If You Could See Me Now
by Advanced Faith
Summary: Ash and his father were extremely close, but when tragedy strikes, Ash struggles to cope, and his grades and entire life derails, and he needs his nearest and dearest to help him get through it, AU. Inspired by the song "If You Could See Me Now" by The Script. Rated T for Safety. Advanceshipping, slight Contestshipping. Ash may be quite OOC. Rated T for teen/dark themes later on.
1. Growing Up

The little raven-haired child giggled at the faces being pulled by the grown man whose lap he was rested on, a small yellow mouse lay beside the child, the mouse had bright red cheeks and a black tail, napping. The small boy couldn't have been any older than a single year old, his hair was an uncontrollable mess, even at that age, and his brown eyes were filled with joy as he gazed adoringly at the man. The child had 'Z' shapes underneath said brown eyes.

The man couldn't help but smile as his son laughed unrelentingly on his lap, the father had identical raven coloured hair and brown eyes, even at such a young age, the son looked remarkably like his father. The man was wearing a casual white long-sleeved t-shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to just under the elbows, a silver watch was on his left wrist, and he had a pair of blue jeans on. The man appeared to be in his mid-twenties.

"Gio, Ash, Pichu! Dinner's almost ready!" A female voice called from in another room, the father smiled down at the son again.

"Come on, Ashy-boy, time for grub," the father said affectionately, picking up the child and mouse before proceeding to carry them towards the door.

"Pichu sleep," the little boy said cheerfully, making his father stop in his place, and look down at the child in his arms, a surprised look on his face.

A large smile swiftly overrode the look of surprise.

"Delia! Delia! Ash just said his first words!" the man shouted excitedly.

There was a loud crash and the sound of hurried footsteps before, moments later, a beautiful brunette woman came scrambling into the room, her hair tied up in a high bun, wearing a pink short-sleeved collared shirt and blue jeans, with a plain white apron over the top, she too had brown eyes, which were currently sparkling with anticipation.

"What did he say?" she asked, her voice barely rising above a whisper, she was no longer in control of her range, due to the emotions that were building in her throat, before her husband could respond, the child intervened.

"Mumma! Pichu sleep!" he giggled, throwing his little arms in the air, before looking at the yellow mouse resting in the opposite arm of his father.

Tears formed in Delia Ketchum's eyes, and she clasped her hands together in front of her face, her eyes locked on her son.

"Gio, he's not even one yet, and he's already spoken," Delia said softly, shifting her gaze to her husband, who wore a look of pride on his face, "I read in a baby book that most children don't verbally communicate until they're two or three!" she added, her husband smiled.

"Maybe he's just incredibly intelligent, like his father," he joked, winking at Delia, who just rolled her eyes.

"Giovanni…" she sighed, before a wide grin broke out onto her beautiful face, "Ashy, who's this?" she asked her son, taking the mouse out of Giovanni's right arm and holding it in front of the child.

The child looked confused momentarily, before he giggled again.

"Mumma! Pichu sleeping!" he replied, "Don't wake him!"

Delia and Giovanni's eyes widened in surprise, before they looked at each other, stunned.

"He… He's…" Delia stuttered, searching her husband's eyes for an answer.

"A genius, not even one and he can communicate like that," Giovanni replied, kissing the top of Ash's head, then his wife's.

Ash looked up in confusion.

"Daddy?" he said, saying it in a tone that made it sound more like a question, Giovanni smiled down at him.

"Yes, son?" Giovanni asked.

"Dinner!" Ash giggled, pointing to the doorway, making Delia jump in realisation, moments before the smoke alarm started to ring.

"Damn!" she exclaimed, before darting into the kitchen, almost as swiftly as she had rushed to her husband and son, she barely had time to place Pichu onto the sofa.

Giovanni shook his head.

"Guess it's a takeaway tonight."

**-IYCSMN-**

Ash sat on the sofa, four years on from his first words, an acoustic guitar sat on his lap, he was looking at the top of the guitar very carefully, the fingers of his left hand carefully placed on the strings. He shifted his gaze to his father sat on the armchair to Ash's left, who was in exactly the same position.

"Is that right, dad?" Ash asked, glancing back to the chord he had been practicing for no longer than thirty seconds, his dad shook his head in disbelief.

"Spot on, Ash, it took me ages to perfect that chord," he chuckled; they were interrupted by a sharp knocking on the front door. Giovanni placed his guitar down, resting it on the edge of the armchair, before he stood up and moved the white net curtain that was preventing a clear view out of the window. After a couple of seconds he released his hold of the net curtain and let it fall back into place before he headed to the front door.

"Who is it daddy?" Ash asked, as Giovanni headed out the door, Ash watched him all the way, waiting for an answer.

"Not sure kiddo, they must be our new neighbours," Giovanni replied, which got Ash excited, he loved meeting new people. He hopped off the sofa, resting his guitar similarly to how his father had done, before he shook the yellow mouse which was sleeping beside him.

"Come on, Pi, new friends!" he exclaimed, the mouse's ears perked up, and he jumped from the sofa onto Ash's shoulder, and the two raced past Giovanni and out of the room. Giovanni just sighed and shook his head.

"Kids," he sighed, before he swiftly followed Ash. As he turned the corner, he saw Pichu on Ash's head tugging at the lever that released the door, Pichu finally forced it down, and the door swung open.

Unfortunately, both Pichu and Ash were knocked off balance by the door finally opening, and they fell backwards onto the floor. Giovanni couldn't help but chuckle at the scene, the people standing in the doorway didn't really know how to react. Giovanni looked up from Ash and Pichu, to the family that were standing in front of him; there was a well built, tall man with black hair, a women with brunette hair, a small child with similar black hair to his father and a little girl with brunette hair similar to her mother. The two adults appeared to be a similar age to Giovanni and Delia, whereas the baby in the mother's arms must've only been between two and three years old, and the little girl seemed to be Ash's age. The girl giggled at Ash and Pichu lying on the ground, they were still there, more out of embarrassment than pain.

"Hello, I'm Giovanni Ketchum, and you are?" Giovanni greeted, extending his arm to the other gentlemen, who reciprocated the gesture.

"Nice to meet you, Giovanni, my name is Norman Maple, and this is my wife Caroline, and son Max, and my little princess, May," the man introduced, Giovanni proceeded to shake Caroline's hand, as Norman introduced her, "We've just moved in next door," Norman added.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all, and allow me to welcome you to the neighbourhood," Giovanni said, taking a step back, "Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?" Giovanni offered, angling his body and lifting his right arm, gesturing for the Maple's to come in, Norman and Caroline exchanged a glance.

"We'd love to," Caroline said politely, Giovanni smiled at the two, before a look of realisation hit him.

"Before I forget, this is my son, Ash," Giovanni said, gesturing to the aforementioned child, who swiftly leapt to his feet.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr and Mrs Maple," Ash said politely, extending his arm to the adults, who smiled at his manners before shaking his hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet such a well-mannered young boy, please, Ash, call us Norman and Caroline," Caroline said, as she shook Ash's hand, who beamed up at them, before noticing the little brunette girl standing slightly to the left of her mother, scratching her left arm nervously. Ash cocked his head, analysing the situation. Norman and Caroline shared a look of confusion, which Giovanni noticed.

"Don't worry, he's just trying to figure out a course of action," Giovanni said quietly to the other parents, who looked even more confused, Giovanni smiled, "He's rather adept at reading people's expressions and demeanours, please excuse me if I sound arrogant or if it sounds like I'm boasting, but we've been recommended by our doctor to have him tested about his IQ," Giovanni explained, Norman and Caroline seemed impressed. During this time, Ash had figured out what to do about the nervous girl in front of him, but didn't have a chance at that precise moment.

"Ash, let the Maple's in, you're blocking the doorway," Giovanni said, winking at Ash when the latter looked up at his father, Ash blushed.

"Sorry Norman, sorry Caroline," Ash apologised, bowing his head as he backtracked, not realising that Pichu hadn't recovered from his fall, and proceeded to trip over the stricken mouse, and falling back down.

"Ash! Are you alright?" Giovanni asked, bending down, Ash smiled up at his dad.

"I'm okay daddy, but you should be more concerned about Pi, he hasn't gotten up and I think I may have hurt him more," Ash replied, lifting his head to try and look at Pichu. Giovanni helped Ash up, and then picked up Pichu, before everyone moved into the lounge that Giovanni and Ash had been practising guitar in. Norman and Caroline sat on the sofa, Max still in Caroline's arms, and May squeezed between them, whilst Giovanni sat on the armchair with Pichu on his lap, and Ash sat cross-legged on the floor, leaning on the glass table that sat in the middle of the room.

Ash looked up at his father.

"Is Pichu alright, dad?" he asked, Giovanni smiled at his son's concern.

"He'll be fine, Ash, it's just with the strain of trying to open the door, mixed with excitement and the fall that followed, he's winded himself," Giovanni explained, to which Ash nodded in response, before standing up, picking up Pichu, and sitting back down in his original spot, stroking his best friend. Giovanni turned his attention to the Maple's.

"Sorry about that, Ash and Pichu are like brothers, when one gets hurt, the other cares about it deeply," Giovanni explained, grinning slightly.

"It's absolutely fine, Giovanni, it's nice to see a child and Pokémon interact like that," Norman replied, which made Caroline roll her eyes and May slump in her seat slightly. Ash sat upright in his seat.

"Mrs Maple, are you okay?" Ash asked, furrowing his brow, Caroline seemed slightly surprised, and looked at Giovanni, who was just smirking.

"Somehow, he can read people like an open book," Giovanni said, shrugging his shoulders whilst still smirking, Caroline still seemed surprised, and her husband shared the look of surprised.

"I'm fine, Ash, thank you, it's just May isn't really comfortable with Pokémon at the moment," Caroline replied, "And honestly, Ash, it is okay for you to call us by our first names," Caroline said softly, smiling at the raven-haired boy, who still had his brow furrowed.

He looked at May, who still appeared to be nervous, and wasn't making eye contact with anyone; she was just staring down at her feet.

"Ash, may I ask you something?" Norman asked, leaning forward and looking Ash in the eye.

"Of course Mr Maple," Ash replied, fidgeting in his seat slightly, still stroking Pichu.

"How old are you?" Norman asked, still leaning forward, Ash stopped stroking Pichu, and appeared to be calculating, he glanced up at the digital clock on the wall, which had the date, time and year. The time was currently just past 4.30pm. Within about five seconds Ash had his answer.

"Well I was born on the 25th of April, 1995, so that makes me five years, four months, twelve days, one hour and fifteen minutes old," Ash answered.

Norman and Caroline's jaws dropped, and even May sat upright in surprise, Giovanni just smirked.

"You weren't kidding about the genius thing," Norman said, looking at Giovanni, who shook his head.

"Sometimes, I wish I were wrong, he can correct me and my wife's language sometimes," Giovanni said, and Ash coughed, looking up at his father.

"You said that wrong daddy," Ash said, and everyone looked back at him again, "You were supposed to say "I wish I was wrong," you used the wrong tense, silly," Ash said, sticking his tongue out at his dad, who just grinned back. Norman and Caroline were stunned.

Ash turned his gaze back to May, and their eyes connected for the first time, and even at five, Ash was amazed by the colour and intensity of her eyes.

"Miss Maple, you have very pretty eyes," Ash said, surprising everyone in the room, even Giovanni. Ash's compliment made May blush.

"Th-Thank you, Ash," she said quietly, looking away nervously, and Ash smiled, feeling he had made progress.

"My wife should be back shortly, you see, at the moment, I'm technically on paternity leave from my job to take care of Ash," Giovanni explained, "My wife works at the hospital, as a midwife, funnily enough."

Norman and Caroline nodded as Giovanni spoke.

"Daddy is the Viridian City Gym Leader!" Ash said proudly, before he looked at Norman with his head tilted, similarly to how he had looked at May when they were in the hallway, "Mr Maple, are you a Gym Leader too?" Ash asked, once again amazing the two adults sat before him.

"Y-Yes I am… How did you know?" Norman stuttered, looking at Ash.

"You have a similar aura to my daddy," Ash answered, smiling at Norman, who furrowed his brow and looked at Giovanni.

"He's a very special child, Giovanni," Norman complimented.

"Thank you, Norman, me and Delia are very proud of him," Giovanni replied, rubbing Ash's head, making his uncontrollable hair even messier. Ash beamed at the praise. May sat upright as she noticed the guitars resting on the armchair, which Ash noticed her do.

"Would you like me to play something, Miss Maple?" Ash asked, bringing everyone's attention back to him, and once again, May blushed when Ash spoke to her, and nodded, but she didn't respond verbally.

"Is he a good guitar player, Giovanni?" Caroline asked, not underestimating the five-year old anymore, after his previous showings.

"Incredibly good," Giovanni answered as Ash placed Pichu in Giovanni's lap, before picking up his guitar and sitting down in his previous spot again, "Probably as good as me and I've been playing for almost fifteen years now."

They all turned their attentions to Ash, who was ready to play, and for the next three minutes they listened and watched him skilfully move his hands along the neck of the guitar, not once making a mistake or playing out of tempo. When he was done, he received a round of applause, May clapped especially vigorously, which made Ash smile widely. No one had noticed that Delia had come home, and was now stood in the doorway, in her midwife's uniform, a pair of black trousers and a blue collared shirt, which had a nametag on.

"My, my Ashy, even better than when I left for work," Delia giggled, making everyone jump, except Ash, who's smile widened.

"Mummy!" he shouted, running over and hugging Delia's legs, who in turn, rubbed Ash's head with her right hand, before Ash pulled back, "This is Mr, Mrs, Miss and Master Maple, our new neighbours," Ash said looking up at Delia, who just smiled back.

"Nice to meet you all, I'm Delia," Delia introduced, shaking Norman and Caroline's hands.

"It's a pleasure, Delia," Norman replied, "This is my wife Caroline, my son Max and my daughter May, and if I may say so, you have an incredible son," Norman said, introducing his family, Delia smiled at his praise.

"Why thank you, Norman, that's kind of you to say," Delia said, before walking over to Giovanni and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Glad that your home, Delia," Giovanni said, "How was work?" he asked, and Delia smiled.

"Good, Johanna came in with Dawn, they're doing really well, Johanna's thinking of moving back over from Sinnoh," Delia answered, to which Giovanni smiled and nodded.

"Dawn's coming back?" Ash asked, once again sitting back on his spot on the floor, after picking up Pichu from Giovanni's lap, the former now asleep, Delia smiled.

"Possibly, Ashy," she answered; Norman and Caroline watched the exchange with smiles on their faces, whilst May was carefully watching Ash, a fact that the latter had noticed, but chose not to comment on.

"Miss Maple, would you like to stroke Pichu?" Ash asked kindly, holding out Pichu in the palms of both of his hands, where the mouse just about managed to fit. May blushed again, but wasn't able to respond, looking away nervously.

Ash looked thoughtful for a moment, before he leapt to his feet, and placed Pichu back on Giovanni's lap.

"Dad, can I get Eevee?" Ash asked, his eyes glinting, as he spoke, Giovanni looked surprised.

"Are you sure, Ash? You'll only have one chance with that Eevee, you do understand, don't you?" Giovanni asked, and Ash nodded frantically.

"I've got a good feeling about this," Ash said, grinning, and Giovanni instantly knew that Ash was making the right choice. Ever since Ash began to speak, four years previous to these events, all of his "good feelings" had always been correct, so Giovanni trusted his son's judgement.

Ash raced out of the room in excitement.

"Ash has an Eevee?" Norman asked, turning his gaze to Giovanni.

"Not quite, we put Eevee aside for him… I'll explain in a minute, I just want to see how Ash plays this," Giovanni partially explained, leaning back in his chair and resting his left leg on his right knee, interlocking his fingers, whilst Delia rested on the arm of the chair.

Moments later Ash darted back in, arms hidden behind his back, he stood in front of the Maple's.

"Mr and Mrs Maple, if it's alright with you, I'd like to give Miss Maple a present," Ash said politely, arms still hidden behind his back, May sat upright at this and looked up at Norman and Caroline, who realised what Giovanni was talking about.

"By all means, Ash," Caroline said, smiling at the raven-haired boy, who's smile grew wide, and he turned to May, who once more blushed in embarrassment.

"Miss Maple, please accept this present from me," Ash said bowing, holding out his hands in front of him, and in them was a Poké Ball, May cocked her head at it, before she tentatively picked it up.

"Th-Thank yo-you, A-Ash," May stuttered quietly, and Ash beamed, delighted that May had accepted the gift. Giovanni looked from Ash and May, up to Norman and Caroline.

"We put Eevee aside for Ash to give as a present to… well, anyone he felt that would be his best friend… I never thought he'd decide that at age five," Giovanni said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I think it's a wonderful gesture, don't you Norman?" Caroline said, smiling widely, Norman nodded in agreement.

"Ash is an incredible little boy, I don't think I've ever met someone quite like him, and he's only five," Norman said, making the aforementioned child's parents smile at each other, whilst Ash and May were still looking at the Poké Ball.

Norman looked up at the clock on the wall.

"I think we best be getting home, we don't want to disturb you any longer, thank you ever so much for your hospitality," Norman said, standing from his seat, Giovanni mimicked his actions.

"It's been a pleasure, Norman, and if you ever need anything, don't be afraid to ask us," Giovanni said, shaking Norman's hand.

"Bye Mr, Mrs, Miss and Master Maple!" Ash said cheerfully, before he turned to May, "Miss Maple, if it's okay with Mr and Mrs Maple, would you like to come over and play another day?" Ash asked, smiling brightly. May looked up at her mum and dad, who in turn, looked over at Delia and Giovanni.

"Would that be okay with you two?" Caroline asked; Giovanni and Delia smiled at each other.

"She'd be more than welcome anytime," Delia said.

"And we're only next door, she can pop over whenever she likes, she doesn't even have to ask us, she just has to make sure it's okay with you," Giovanni added, smiling at the Maple's.

"Delia, Giovanni, thank you, we've only been here a couple of days, and we already feel part of the neighbourhood, and I'm sure the kids will be great friends," Caroline said, shaking both the Ketchum's hands.

"I'll see you out," Giovanni said, as the Maple's filtered out of the lounge, with Giovanni following.

Ash smiled looking in the direction that the Maple's had gone.

**-IYCSMN-**

Ash watched the clock intently.

He was waiting for the clock to read 15.15, it was currently spot on three, as then, he'd officially be ten.

By his standards, anyway.

Obviously, by law, he was already ten, but Ash liked to be precise. He was wearing dark blue jeans and a plain black shirt, and even at the age of ten, his muscles were well defined. His raven hair was still an abysmal mess, but it added to the charm.

Ash was waiting for his mum to come home from work, early, so they could celebrate his birthday.

Giovanni walked into the room without Ash even noticing, as the latter was too focused on the clock. Giovanni chuckled to himself as he watched Ash.

"It takes sixty seconds for the clock to change at all, I'd have thought that you'd know that, Ashy," Giovanni joked, startling his zoned-out child.

"Dad! Don't make me jump like that!" Ash said playfully, sticking his tongue out, to which, Giovanni just smiled.

"All jokes aside, I think you've done exceptionally well to put off opening your presents until your mum and your friends get here," Giovanni said, sitting down in the armchair.

"Well, mum had to take Pichu to work, so I wouldn't want him to miss anything, and it's the same with my friends, really," Ash replied, turning his attention back to the clock.

Slowly but surely, the clock reached the time of Ash's birth, and a huge smile broke out on his face, he was finally (by his standards) ten.

"Happy birthday, Ashy!" his mother squealed, startling Ash, as once again, he had been watching the clock too intently to notice Delia come in from work.

"Thanks mum!" Ash said, jumping up and giving his mum a hug. Once he pulled away, he realised something.

"Where's Pi?" Ash asked, looking around for the electric mouse, Delia and Giovanni smiled at each other.

"Come with us, Ashy," Delia said, as Giovanni and her walked out of the room and towards the back of the house.

Ash promptly followed.

They walked into the dining room, where there was a sliding door that opened up into a conservatory, but the curtains were pulled, blocking the view of the conservatory.

"Ash, let me put this on," Giovanni said, pulling out a blindfold, which made Ash cock his head in confusion.

"Okay," he replied, shrugging his shoulders. Giovanni walked over and tied the blindfold around his head, blocking his eyesight.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" Giovanni asked, holding up three fingers on his right hand, testing whether Ash could see through any gaps in the blindfold.

"Really, dad?" Ash asked, jokingly, "I can't see, okay?" he added, sticking his tongue out, making Giovanni and Delia giggle.

"Come on then, let's go outside," Delia said, and the two parents lead Ash by his hands, out into the garden.

Ash had no idea what was going on, until he was stopped by his parents.

"Ready, Ash?" Giovanni asked, and the birthday boy nodded, Giovanni removed his blindfold.

"SURPRISE!"

Ash was shocked by the rather large amount of people in the back garden, and physically jumped back in surprise.

"Happy birthday, Ash!" the large congregation said in unison. At a glance, Ash could see all of his family, both sides, the Oak's, including Gary, one of his friends he'd known since he was little. Gary had turned ten a month earlier, and had received a Pokémon off his granddad, who was Professor Oak, who gave starting Pokémon Trainers of Pallet Town their starters.

Ash saw Johanna and Dawn Berlitz, the bluenette mother and daughter combo, who had moved to Sinnoh when Ash was two, and had returned when he was six. He also saw the Harrison's, which included Brock, his old babysitter.

And finally he saw the Maple's, and the person Ash considered his best human friend, excluding his parents: May Maple, Eevee being cuddled in her arms.

Ash had given Eevee to May as a gift, on the day they had first met, five years previous. May wore a bright smile when Ash looked towards her, and he grinned back.

"Wow, thank you all so much for coming!" Ash said, bowing slightly. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up to see Giovanni standing there.

"Well, Ash, we have a couple of surprises for you, the first comes from Sam," Giovanni said, gesturing to the wise professor that stood with his grandson, but walked over once Giovanni had raised his arm in Oak's direction.

"Happy birthday, m'boy," Oak said, placing his hand on Ash's shoulder, the latter smiled up at Samuel Oak.

"Thank you Professor Oak," Ash replied, Professor Oak then fished in his jacket pocket, before he found what he was looking for, but kept his hand in his pocket.

"Ash, this is a very big thing I want to give you, and I want you to promise me you'll use it properly," Oak said, smiling down at Ash, who in turn, looked at his parents in confusion.

"Of course, Professor," Ash said, still wearing a look of confusion.

"Close your eyes and hold out your hands," Oak said, and Ash did as he was told, he felt something about the size of a television remote, being placed into his hands.

"Open them, Ashy," he heard Delia say, and he obeyed, and almost dropped the item in shock.

It was a Pokédex.

Ash looked up at Professor Oak, with gratitude glistening in his brown eyes; he then turned to his parents, who were standing behind him, Giovanni with a hand round Delia's waist, Ash's expression turning to hope.

"Professor Oak asked us if it was okay for you to have one, and we said yes," Giovanni explained, and Ash turned back to Professor Oak.

"Thank you so much, Professor Oak!" he thanked, bowing out of respect, and Professor Oak smiled down at Ash.

"It's my pleasure, Ash, I know you'll make a great trainer, or coordinator, or breeder, whatever you choose to be, I know you'll excel," Professor Oak said, before he rubbed Ash's head affectionately, then walked back over to Gary.

Ash stared at the Pokédex in his hand, before he realised what Professor Oak had said, and he turned to his parents again, they were smiling widely down at him.

"Now for our surprise," Delia said, tears forming in her eyes.

"Ash, don't think that we don't want you to go on your journey, but we think it would be better if you completed your studies first, so we've managed to get you a place at Kanto Pokémon Regional High," Giovanni said, still smiling, Ash just stood in silence, listening intently to his parents, a grin on his face.

"So, we come to our actual present to you," Delia said, her eyes still glistening.

"You can come out now!" Giovanni said loudly, and Ash felt something leap onto his back, making his turn his head.

"Pi!" Ash exclaimed, and Pichu was sat on his shoulder grinning. Ash smiled back, but then he realised something and his jaw dropped, he turned around to his parents.

Giovanni was holding out a Poké Ball.

"This is Pi's ball," Giovanni said, a huge smile on his face.

"Happy birthday, Ash," Delia and Giovanni said in unison, as the latter placed Pichu's Poké Ball in a stunned Ash's hands.

Ash could only stare at it; excitement started bubbling up inside him.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Ash shouted, leaping forward and squeezing his parents tightly.

"You're welcome, Ash, but there's one more present left to be given to you," Delia said, whilst her son was hugging her.

"Huh?" Ash said, turning around to find May standing behind him, her arms held behind her back, similarly to how Ash had done, when he had given Eevee to May five years ago.

"Ha-Happy birthday, Ash," May stuttered, something Ash found incredibly cute, May always stuttered when she was nervous.

"No need to be nervous, May, we've been friends for five years now!" Ash said, smiling at her.

May smiled back, before handing Ash his present. Ash ripped off the wrapping paper, and beneath it was a small cardboard box, Ash peeled the tape off the top of the box, so it would open freely, and he opened it up, smiling when he saw what was inside.

"To try and control that mess you call hair," May said, sticking her tongue out and messing up Ash's hair, before picking up the item in the box and placing it on Ash's head. It was a hat, the sides of the hat were red, and the front was white with a blue Poké Ball symbol on it (Unova).

"Thanks May, I love it," Ash said, smiling at his best friend, he stepped forward and caught May off-guard with a hug, which May returned, once she'd got over the initial hug.

"I'm glad, Ash, it's not every day you reach double figures," May said, as they stopped their embrace, and stood smiling at each other.

"Your turn next month," Ash said, sticking his tongue out at May, who glared back, before the two laughed.

The two children's parents watched on with smiles on their faces, all thinking the same thing.

"_Those two will fall in love."_

**-IYCSMN-**

"Gotta find May a present!" Ash exclaimed, as he darted through the streets of Pallet, heading towards the mall, Pichu clinging to his shoulder for dear life, since Ash had officially received Pichu as his first Pokémon on his tenth birthday, exactly a month previous to these events transpiring, the two hadn't spent a moment apart.

"I can't believe I left it this late!" Ash cursed to himself, glancing at his digital watch strapped to his left wrist, he had a simple plain white short-sleeved t-shirt on, and dark blue jeans, electing not to wear a jumper, even though it was quite late. Ash knew his mother would be worrying about him being out this late, but May's birthday was in two days' time, a Monday, and the mall was never open on a Sunday, so it was always open late on Saturday evenings.

The time read 8.35pm, and the sun had almost completely set, but the mall itself didn't shut until 10pm.

Ash was making progress until he made a turn too soon, and had rushed into a dark alleyway.

He didn't realise his mistake until it was too late.

Within moments three men had surrounded Ash, they were almost twice his height, and that was without taking into account the size of their muscles. Ash gulped.

"Well, well, well, what do we 'av 'ere?" the man in front of Ash said. Ash turned his head slightly to see two more standing behind him.

"Some punk finking he can step on our turf," one man behind Ash said.

"There's no need for any trouble, guys, I just took a wrong turn, is all," Ash said, holding his hands up to try and convince them it was an honest mistake.

"You sassin' us boy?" the first man said.

"No, sir, it was honestly just a mistake, it won't happen again," Ash said apologetically, trying to prevent the situation from escalating. The three men laughed at him. Ash couldn't see their faces due to the darkness of the alleyway.

He knew he was in serious trouble.

"Well, we can make sure ya don't make dis mistake again, kid," the third man said, and they started to advance on Ash, who even though he was well toned for his age, he had no chance against the three grown men.

Ash backed up against one of the walls and the three men converged in front of him.

Before he could prevent it from happening, Pichu leapt from his shoulder and onto the floor in front of the men.

"Pi Pichu!" the little mouse said, to which the men just laughed again.

"What was that you little rat?" the second man said, as the other two men kept on laughing.

Pichu's cheeks started to spark, but before he could launch an attack, one of the men kicked him aggressively into the alley wall, right next to Ash.

"Pichu!" Ash cried, he went to bend over to pick his companion up, but one of the men grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, and physically lifted him off the floor.

The other two men stood either side of the one holding Ash, making any slim hope of escape evaporate.

Ash caught a glimpse of something shiny being pulled out by the third man.

It was a knife.

Before he could react, he felt the knife being pressed against his left shoulder; he cried out in pain as one of the men dug the knife in and slowly dragged it down Ash's arm, opening up a deep and long wound, which stopped just above Ash's elbow.

"Piii..." Ash heard something behind the men growl, and next thing he knew, a blinding white light came from behind the men, which made them drop Ash in confusion, the knife clattering to the floor beside Ash, who tried to hold the wound to prevent himself from losing blood.

The light stopped and there was a moment of silence.

"PIKA!" was all Ash heard, before there was an incredible burst of electricity, which Ash was prevented from seeing due to the men.

All Ash saw as he lay on the ground in pain, was the electricity surrounding his assailants, making them spasm uncontrollably, before they fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Pikapi!" Ash heard, and he felt something nuzzling into his neck, he tried to sit himself up with his right arm, leaning onto the wall.

"Pi… You saved me," Ash said weakly, smiling at the furry creature that was sat in his lap. In the darkness, Ash couldn't see the change that Pichu had undertaken in order to protect him.

Ash forced himself to his feet, and felt his best friend move onto his shoulder, and Ash staggered a couple of feet, still holding his wound, before he realised something.

Pichu felt heavier. Ash's eyes widened in surprise.

"Pi! You evolved!" Ash exclaimed, the realisation gave Ash the energy to burst out of the alleyway and into the street, where he saw, for the very first time, his Pikachu.

"Pika! Pikachu!" Pikachu said proudly, smiling at Ash, having not noticed the wound on Ash's left arm.

"You evolved just so you had enough power to protect me… Oh Arceus thank you, Pi!" Ash said, tears forming in his eyes.

The two nuzzled cheeks briefly, before Ash realised that he should call the police and an ambulance, so he could receive some treatment for his arm.

Moments later, he was sat in the back of an ambulance, his arm bandaged, and an orange sheet covering his shoulders, Pikachu sat in his lap, watching the three unconscious men being hauled out of the alleyway by police officers, and flung into a police van.

A female officer, with blue hair, then proceed to walk over to wear Ash was sat.

"Hello there, I'm Officer Jenny, you must be Ash," she introduced, sitting down next to Ash, who nodded slowly, still staring blankly at the police van, which had just started to drive away.

"How are you feeling, Ash? That was quite an ordeal you went through," Officer Jenny said, snapping Ash out of his trance.

"I'm okay, just still a little bit shocked, but I'll be fine," Ash replied, stroking Pikachu's head with his right hand, not having much movement in his left arm, due to his wound.

"Ash, if you don't mind me asking, what were you doing in an alleyway like that at this time of night?" Officer Jenny asked softly, carefully watching Ash's face, for any expression change that may indicate that the boy was lying.

"I was on my way to the mall to get a… Oh no! May's present!" Ash exclaimed, leaping to his feet, much to the displeasure of Pikachu, who was flung onto the floor, "Sorry Pi," Ash said, scooping up his companion, who glared at him, before repositioning himself on Ash's shoulder. Ash looked down at his watch and breathed a sigh of relief; he still had an hour to get May's present.

"Ash, what's the matter?" Officer Jenny asked, looking up from her seating position at the raven-haired boy.

"I was in the alleyway coz I was going to get my best friend a present and was in a hurry, and took a wrong turn," Ash said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head with his right hand.

"I see, were you heading to the mall?" Jenny asked, and Ash nodded, Jenny walked over to her bike, which had a little pod attached to the side, "Hop in, Ash, I'll give you a lift." Ash's eyes opened in surprise.

"Really? Thank you so much!" Ash said, rushing over and placing himself into the pod, Pikachu moving onto his lap again.

Jenny put on the sirens and the trio burst off at an incredible speed, Ash clinging onto Pikachu tightly, to make sure the electric mouse didn't fly off his lap.

"Ash, did you let your parents or guardians know what happened?" Jenny asked as they drove, and Ash's eyes widened in realisation.

"No, my dad knew I was coming out, but my mum didn't, they'll only start to properly worry if I'm not back by half ten," Ash replied, and Jenny frowned.

"If you don't mind me asking, Ash, what's your dad's name?" Jenny asked.

"Giovanni, he's the Viridian City Gym Leader," Ash answered, and Jenny nodded.

"I thought so, you look so much like your father," she told Ash, who blushed at her comment.

They arrived at the mall just after 9pm, and as soon as Jenny pulled up, Ash leapt out of the pod, Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Thank you so much for everything, Officer Jenny," Ash said, bowing out of respect.

"It's my pleasure, Ash, but make sure you get home safely from here, get a bus if you have to," Jenny advised, and Ash nodded.

"I will, Officer Jenny."

"See you, Ash," Jenny said, waving at Ash and Pikachu, before she drove off. Ash stood still for a moment, testing his left arm, he had some movement, but it was still limited. Ash winced as pain shot through the cut, which was hidden beneath a bandage.

There was one benefit of the incident, Ash though cynically.

It had given him time to figure out what he was going to get May, and also a way to hide his wound from his parents and friends.

"Hey, Pi," Ash said, as he walked through the mall, looking for the stores that he needed to go in, "Can we keep this," Ash said, indicating towards his wound, "A secret?" Ash requested, and Pikachu looked surprised. Ash never hid anything from his parents.

Ash noticed Pikachu's confused look.

"If they found out I'd been attacked, they'd never let me leave the house alone again," Ash explained, and Pikachu thought about it momentarily, before agreeing with Ash.

The two smiled before Ash headed off to by May's tenth birthday present.

He knew that he had to make it special for her, as she herself had said on his birthday.

"_It's not every day you reach double figures."_

And Ash had the perfect presents in mind for her.

**-IYCSMN-**

Ash rang the doorbell and waited patiently for an answer, he glanced down at his watch, it read 9.55pm, it had taken him such a short time to get May's presents, he was surprised, and he still had forty-five minutes to get home.

So he was outside May's, needing her advice, he had purchased a green bag with a red Poké Ball symbol on it, to put May's presents in so she wouldn't find them. He had also bought a new hoody, so he could cover up his wound, the top half of the hoody was blue and the bottom half was white, with a yellow zip running down the middle. Ash had bought it because he liked the colours and it matched his hat, but mainly because the sleeves would cover up his wounds, even if he pulled up the sleeves to his elbows, which he had done to somewhat cool himself down on a fairly mild night.

His wound was the reason he was here.

He needed May's advice on what to do now, he had a feeling that the event would make its way into the local news, as not much happened in Pallet Town.

Ash snapped out of his daze when he heard the door crack open, and he saw a pair of cerulean eyes peeking through the gap.

"Ash!" May exclaimed, as she opened the door fully, once she had figured out who the person was.

"Hi May, is it alright if I come in? I need some help," Ash requested, looking at May with pleading eyes.

"Of course, Ash, we've got about half an hour before my parents are back with Max, he's been at my grandparents all day, and my mum and dad were waiting for him to fall asleep before they picked him up," May explained, moving out the way so Ash could come in.

"Thanks, Amy," Ash said cheekily, winking at May as she passed, who blushed at the nickname, something she only did when Ash called her it. The nickname had come about when Max had turned three and couldn't quite say "May," however simple it was, or he just did it because it got an amusing reaction out of May.

The two headed into the lounge of the Maple residence, where the only light was coming from the TV, which was showing some sort of Soap Opera, Ash assumed, by the way that the characters on it were screaming at each other. May flicked the lights on, and switched the TV off as the duo sat down.

"Where's Pi?" May asked, looking around Ash's figure, trying to find Ash's faithful Pokémon.

"That comes with my dilemma," Ash said, leaning back in his seat. May watched him intently and she opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Ash.

"May, I've been attacked," Ash said, taking a glance at May, whose jaw dropped in shock.

"Oh my Arceus! Are you okay, Ash? Did they hurt you?" she fussed, moving closer to Ash and inspecting him for any injuries. Ash nodded slowly, before he sat up, and unzipped his new hoody and slowly pulled out his left arm, so half his body was out the hoody. Part of the bandaging was visible as his white t-shirt only came down to halfway between his shoulder and elbow, whereas the wound stretched to just above his elbow. Ash watched May's hands shoot up to her mouth as Ash slowly pulled up his shirt sleeve to reveal the full extent of his injury.

"Ash! What happened?" May asked quietly, tears forming in her eyes as she watched Ash move incredibly slowly to put his hoody back on fully, and wincing every now and again. Once Ash had got his hoody back on and zipped up, he turned to face May, and the two were sat facing each other. May still had her hands over her mouth, a single tear rolled down her face.

"May, it's okay, I'm fine, I'm here, you don't need to cry," Ash said, rubbing May's left arm with his right hand.

"Does… it hurt?" May asked quietly, her voice barely reaching a whisper, Ash nodded slowly, still staring into May's eyes, and rubbing her shoulder.

"I need your advice, but first, let me tell you what happened, and May, try not to cry, because it's all fine now, I'm here, aren't I?" Ash asked, May nodded in response, he was indeed there, and apart from his injury, all in one piece.

"Right, well I was going to the mall, and was in kind of a hurry, so wasn't paying full attention to where I was going, and turned to soon and ended up in an almost pitch black alleyway," Ash explained, carefully watching May's expression as he spoke, not removing his hand from her arm.

"And by the time I'd realised my mistake, three… I'm gonna call them psychopaths, had surrounded me, one in front of me, two behind me, I tried to talk my way out of it, but they thought I was… "Sassin'" them, in their own words."

"So I backed myself up against the wall, and when I had done, Pichu decided to try and defend me." May gasped, jumping to conclusions, as she couldn't see Pichu at the moment, and Ash went everywhere with him.

"One of the men kicked him against the wall a couple of feet away from me, and I went to pick him up, but before I could, one of them pinned me up against the wall, and whilst I was there I saw something glint, which was the knife that did this," Ash explained, momentarily removing his hand from May's arm to indicate to his wound, before placing it back where it was on May's left arm.

"I won't go into details, but I think me crying out in pain brought Pichu out of his unconsciousness, and next thing I know, there's a blinding white light coming from behind the three men, who had all converged around me, which made them drop me to the floor, and from the floor, all I could see was a huge electrical build up, which after a couple of seconds surrounded the men, and they started to spasm uncontrollably." May shivered at the thought, before listening to the conclusion of the story.

"They fell unconscious on the spot, and then I felt Pichu nuzzle into my neck, and I forced myself to my feet and Pichu hopped onto my shoulder, feeling much heavier than usual," Ash explained, a small smile flicking onto his face.

"Maybe that was just because you'd been hurt?" May suggested, searching Ash's eyes with her own.

"Nope," Ash said, smirking, before his bag opened behind him, and the yellow mouse in question leapt out, and jumped onto Ash's lap.

"Pika!" he said proudly, smiling up at May, whose jaw dropped as she looked at the newly evolved Pikachu.

"He evolved!" May exclaimed, looking back up at Ash, who nodded.

"He evolved so he would have enough electrical power to protect me," Ash said, pride evident in his voice, which gave Pikachu a fuzzy feeling inside.

"Are you sure you're okay, Ash? That sounds like one hell of an ordeal," May said, placing her right hand on Ash's, which was still on May's arm.

"I'm fine, I just need your advice on something," Ash replied, a weird feeling building in his stomach when May placed her hand on his.

"What is it, Ash?" May asked, once again searching Ash's brown eyes with her own cerulean ones.

"I don't want to tell my parents, they'd never let me go out alone!" Ash stated, mimicking May's actions, trying to figure out what was going on in his brunette friend's mind.

"But I figured if I don't, they'll find out as it'll make its way into the news, apparently those three blokes are notorious for assault and burglaries," Ash added, still watching May intently.

"Well… if they don't let you go out alone, why don't you suggest that we go out together whenever you need to go somewhere?" May said, a light blush forming on her cheeks.

Ash contemplated it for a moment.

"But what if I'm doing something that you can't be there for?" Ash asked, slightly cryptically.

"What do you mean, Ash?" May asked, furrowing her brow in confusion.

"I was in a rush because I needed to get your presents before Monday," Ash sighed, gulping nervously, realisation struck May's face.

"Ohh Ash, you could've just said you'd forgotten instead of rushing and getting yourself hurt!" May exclaimed, hitting Ash lightly on his right arm.

"I know, but I wouldn't have forgiven myself if I didn't get you something for your actual birthday, you said yourself, 'it's not every day you hit double figures'" Ash said, using his fingers to indicate he was quoting May.

"I know, but still, my point stands!" May said, and Ash shook his head, smirking slightly.

"Not really, because I completely just disproved it," Ash replied cheekily, winking and sticking out his tongue, to which May smirked and playfully hit him on his right arm again.

"I'll just wait outside the shop and not peek at what you're getting me," May suggested, returning the conversation back to its original point, and Ash contemplated it for a moment.

"Sure, why not? We spend loads of time together anyway, mean we just get to see each other more," Ash said, smiling at May, who returned the gesture, they stayed like that for longer than they realised, and were only snapped out of it when they heard the door snap open. Ash quickly made sure that his wound was covered, before he realised how close him and May were sat, which made him blush as he stood up, Pikachu jumping up onto his trainer's shoulder.

"May! We're back!" The duo heard May's mother call, they heard footsteps and then saw the aforementioned parent stick her head round the door.

"Oh hello, Ash, how are you?" Caroline asked, stepping into the room fully, Ash shot a glance at May, and they two seemed to know what the other was thinking.

"Mrs Maple, is it okay if I bring my parents round before I answer that question?" Ash requested, bowing slightly. This question brought a confused look onto Caroline's face, before she noticed the yellow mouse on Ash's shoulder.

"Pikachu evolved!" she blurted out, making Ash, May and Pikachu grin slightly.

"Yes, and that's part of the reason I'd like to bring my parents over, as I can't actually answer how I am without them here," Ash repeated, looking to May for support and reassurance.

"It's true mum, he'd need his parents here to explain," May said, looking up at her mother with pleading eyes.

"Well Norman is trying to carry Max in, to put him to bed as he's fast asleep, but when he's finished, I'll get him to go get your parents, Ash," Caroline said, and Ash breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you so much, Mrs Maple," Ash said, bowing again.

"Ash, how many times have I asked you to call me and Norman by our first name?" Caroline asked, rolling her eyes.

"Including this incident, one hundred and four," Ash said, smirking slightly, the four in the room had a good laugh, before Norman stepped into the room.

"Honey, could you go and fetch Ash's parents for him?" Caroline asked, before Norman could say anything at all, he was ushered out of the house by his wife, leaving Ash and May alone in the lounge, completely stunned.

"Your mum knows how to get things done," Ash said, eyes open wide in surprise.

"Yeah, she really does," May agreed, before Ash plopped himself down next to her.

"This is gonna be such a difficult conversation," Ash muttered, before he realised that his bag was still unzipped, and sat on the sofa, he quickly zipped it up and placed it on the floor. While he was bending over, May placed a reassuring hand on his back.

"It'll be okay, Ash, I'm here to help you and you've got Pi as well," May said soothingly, and Ash relaxed as he sat back.

"Thanks, May, what would I ever do without you?" Ash asked, turning his head to look at May, who was smiling at him, Ash couldn't help but notice how radiant she looked, which made the funny feeling in his stomach come back, but he pushed it aside, May was wearing an orange blouse with a black collar, and a black skirt that clung quite tightly to her legs, and reach just above her knees, her brunette hair was cascading down and May had pulled them over her shoulders.

Ash tried to compose himself before his face started heating up, as composure would be what he needed during this discussion.

"So, Mr," May said playfully, poking Ash's leg, "What did you get me for my birthday?" she asked, smirking at Ash, who raised an eyebrow whilst sharing May's smirk.

"You really think I'm gonna tell you?" Ash asked, raising one eyebrow and smirking at May, who pouted.

"Pwease?" May pleaded, trying the puppy dog eyes, Ash sighed, they were so hard to resist.

"No, you'll find out in two days!" Ash reiterated, still smirking as May pouted more.

They heard voices indicating that Norman and Caroline had fetched Ash's parents, and the latter proceeded to gulp. May placed a reassuring hand on his.

"It'll be okay, Ash, they're not going to be angry at you, and I'll be here the whole time," May promised, squeezing Ash's right hand with her left, in reassurance. Ash moved his hand slightly, and then slipped his fingers into the gaps in May's hand, they fitted perfectly, both parties were flushed by Ash's movement, but neither moved away, instead, in one movement, they slipped the interlocked hands into the gap between them, and May scooted right up to Ash.

It looked as if the duo were doing it to make room on the couch, whereas Ash was doing it for his own reassurance, no one would be able to see them secretly holding hands.

The four adults entered the room and all eyes turned to Ash.

"Ash, why did you call us here?" Delia asked, a confused look etched onto her face, Ash gulped.

"Mum, dad, please sit down," Ash requested quietly, not making eye contact with them, instantly, the adults knew something was wrong, Ash was never this serious or afraid to make eye contact, with anyone.

Once everyone was settled, Ash took a deep breath, and May squeezed his hand once more, she was watching his facial expression carefully.

"What's wrong, Ash?" Giovanni asked, he was also watching Ash's facial expression carefully.

"I-I…" Ash stuttered, before gulping again.

"Do you want me to tell them?" May whispered, and Ash nodded slowly.

"May, what's going on?" Norman asked, concern evident in his voice.

"Ash was attacked," May said, making all the parents gasp.

"Ash, is this true?!" Giovanni asked, rising to his feet, his movement made Ash shrink into his, but he managed a slow nod, nonetheless.

"Honey, there's no need to be afraid to tell us, please, just let us know what happened," Delia said softly, and Ash looked up and caught her eyes, they were filled with concern. Ash gulped once more, and released May's hand, he brought his right hand up to the zip of his hoody and undid it, before slowly bringing his left arm out.

Even before he had fully revealed the extent of his injury, his mother had burst into tears.

Ash rolled up the sleeve of his t-shirt so the whole bandage was visible, indicating the size of the wound.

Once he was certain everyone had seen the wound, his slipped his arm back into his hoody, zipped it up, then once again searched for May's hand, making sure that the adults couldn't see, once they had relocked their hands, May gave Ash another reassuring squeeze, and while he had the confidence to do so, Ash explained everything that had happened.

Racing to the mall, taking an early turn, being surrounded, trying to talk his way out of it, backing up against the wall, Pichu trying to defend him and being kicked into the wall, being lifted off his feet, the knife being dug into his arm and sliced down (but he skipped the gory details for fear of upsetting his mother further), the blinding light of evolution, the build-up of electricity, the men being knocked out, Pichu nuzzling into his neck, forcing himself out of the alleyway, noticing Pichu's evolution into a Pikachu, and then calling the police and ambulance and watching the men being arrested and taken away.

He hadn't made eye contact with anyone other than Pikachu during his speech, looking to the electric mouse for emotional support, and May for physical support, every time he did so he received a reassuring squeeze, that he was extremely grateful for, he doubted that he would've been able to make it through the explanation without his two best friends.

"Oh Ashy! Are you okay?" his mother cried, at the end of his retelling, as she rushed over and started fussing.

"I'm fine mum, honestly, I just need to take it easy with my left arm until it fully heals, the paramedic stitched it up for me whilst the police investigate the scene," Ash said, trying to reassure Delia.

"That sounds like quite an ordeal, Ash, are you sure you're _feeling _okay?" Norman asked, putting emphasis on the word 'feeling,' Ash nodded.

"Thank you for your concern, Mr Maple, but I feel emotionally fine, I was in shock for a few moments once I'd come to terms with what had _actually _happened, but at the moment, other than an occasional shooting pain in my wound, I'm fine," Ash said, sounding extremely convincing, as what he had said was true, he felt fine.

"Ash, can I ask you something?" Giovanni asked, drawing Ash's attention.

"Of course, dad," Ash replied.

"Why did you come here first, and not straight home?" Giovanni asked, raising an eyebrow, that, to anyone else would appear to be a quizzical motion, but Ash knew that there was a deeper meaning to it, he knew his father was insinuating something.

Ash blushed lightly.

"I came here for May's advice," Ash said honestly, "I was worried about telling you as I thought that you'd both worry too much and not let me out by myself anymore, so I needed a second opinion," Ash explained.

"I see… and what did May suggest?" Giovanni asked, again raising his eyebrow, and again, Ash knew he was suggesting something, Ash shot his dad a glare, whilst smirking slightly, before his expression turned serious again.

"May suggested that if you didn't want me going out by myself anymore, that she accompanies me whenever you don't want me out by myself," Ash explained, feeling his face heating up, as he knew what Giovanni would make out of that.

Ash just prayed his father kept it to himself.

The last thing Ash wanted, or needed was his dad knowing about his growing feelings for his best friend and neighbour.

May Maple, Ash Ketchum's girl next door.

**EOC**

**Quite possibly my longest chapter ever written for FanFiction, just over 10,000 words. Hopefully the first chapter was good, this should only be a 5-10 chapter story, a small side project.  
Did anyone notice the Big Bang Theory scene slipped in?  
And for anyone wondering, the song that I had in mind when Ash was demonstrating his guitar skills to the Maple's was the acoustic version of Loverboy by You Me At Six, whose music will be popping up in this story a fair bit.  
And for the purposes of this story, every song included has been written by Ash.  
Please leave a review with what you liked or disliked, all reviews are appreciated!**

**A/N: -IYCSMN- indicates a time skip**

**~AF~**


	2. Perfect For You

Ash paced around his room, nervous, excited and full of adrenaline.

Why?

Ash was about to play his first gig, well, his band was, the band was made up of his three closest male friends, Gary Oak, Brock Harrison and Max Maple. Ash had known Gary since he was in nappies, and had known Max only a little while longer, when he and his family had moved in next door to Ash. Brock had been Ash's babysitter when Ash was much younger, but once Ash had reached the age of around eight, Ash and Brock became really good friends.

Ash faintly heard a knock at his door.

"Come in," Ash said, not stopping his pacing, but fixing his gaze onto the door, which cracked open, and the head of Ash's crush and neighbour popped around it.

Ash instantly stopped his pacing, and felt the familiar butterflies arise in his stomach, something that happened every time he looked at May Maple's gorgeous figure.

"Ash, it's time to go," May said, entering the room, a huge smile on her face. This gave Ash an opportunity to inspect what had become of his childhood best friend.

As soon as May had hit teens, she started to develop, even just at the age of fifteen; she was extremely mature, physically, having perhaps the body of an eighteen year old. She wore a red tank top and blue jeans; a green bandana was tied around May's neck, simple, right? But it still took Ash's breathe away, such a simple outfit, yet it made Ash's heart race. It wasn't her body that made Ash fall in love with her; his list of reasons could go on for ages.

Her laugh, her smile, and the way she was always there for Ash, he could go to her for anything.

That was just naming three.

Ash looked at the clock on his wall at May's statement.

"But there's still two hours before we're due on stage?" Ash queried, looking back at May with an eyebrow raised.

"Check your phone," May replied, grinning slightly. Ash obliged, pulling out his mobile, he pressed a button on it which made the screen light up, revealing a text from the owner of the establishment they were due to be playing at, it became apparent to Ash, by the form of the text, that it had been sent to Brock, Max and Gary as well.

"_Hi fellas, change of plan, if we could have you in a couple of hours early for a sound testing, that would be much appreciated, as we've had a couple of faults today, nothing major, but something that could cause a few complications if not tested. Cheers."_

"I see…" Ash mumbled, before he looked back up at May, "May, I'm so nervous," Ash added, lifting the hat that May had given him for his tenth birthday off his head, and running has hand through his hair.

May giggled, which puzzled Ash greatly.

"What's so funny?" He asked, raising an eyebrow once more, May just giggled more.

"You said something so similar on my tenth birthday," May said, smirking at Ash, "Remember? Mr eidetic memory?" May teased, winking at Ash.

Ash did remember, he remembered it extremely well.

_-IYCSMN-_

_Ash finished wrapping the box that contained May's birthday present, and sat back admiring his handiwork, before he wrote out a tag and taped it to the box._

_It had been two days since Ash had been attacked, and his wound had healed extremely well, thanks to the dissolvable stitching that the ambulance staff had done._

_Ash glanced to the guitar on its stand in the corner of his bedroom, he hadn't played it since his attack._

"_Pikapi?" Ash heard from his bed, he turned to see Pikachu looking at him, concern evident on the electric mouse's face._

"_I really wanna play, Pikachu," Ash said simply, before turning his gaze back to the guitar._

_He stood up sharply and picked it up with his right hand, before sitting down on the bed next to Pikachu, and tentatively lifted his left arm up to the neck._

_No pain._

_He started to play a simple melody, one of the first ones his father had taught him five years previous._

_No pain._

_Ash got more confident the longer he was playing, he had been playing steadily for ten minutes with no pain, before he started trying more audacious chords, songs and movements._

_No pain._

_After a total of around forty-five minutes solid playing, Ash was interrupted by a knocking at his door._

"_Come in," Ash said, placing the guitar down, and resting it against his bed. The door opened and Giovanni walked in._

"_That was mightily impressive, Ash, does your arm hurt at all after that?" Giovanni asked smiling._

"_Not at all," Ash said, beaming back at his father._

"_That's good because Norman's asked if you'd mind playing at May's birthday party later," Giovanni said, smirking when Ash's jaw dropped._

"_How many people will be there?" Ash asked, a slight look of fear in his eyes, Giovanni smiled reassuringly._

"_Only May's close family and friends, no more than thirty/forty people," Giovanni answered. Ash thought about it momentarily._

"_What time is May's party?" Ash asked, glancing up at the clock._

"_7.30," Giovanni replied._

_Five hours away._

"_I'll do it," Ash said, smiling, which his father reciprocated, before leaving the room to inform Norman of Ash's answer._

_Ash spent the next four hours practising the song he wanted to play, and after the third hour, he began singing along to it, not knowing what was overcoming him, he just felt an unassailable urge to sing._

_He was so focused on his practising, he didn't notice May come into the room, she had been there for ten minutes, listening to Ash intently, before Ash realised she was there._

_He leapt off his bed, almost dropping his guitar in the process._

"_May!" He exclaimed, as he jumped to his feet, "when did you get here?" he asked._

_May smirked at his reaction._

"_I've been here for about ten minutes," she said._

"_Oops… sorry," Ash apologised sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head, before May could respond; Ash stepped forward and engulfed her in a hug._

"_Happy birthday, May!" Ash said happily, squeezing May tightly._

_She blushed heavily at his gesture._

"_Thank you, Ashy," May teased, winking at Ash as the two separated._

_Ash rolled his eyes._

"_Do you have to call me that?" May nodded fervently._

"_That was beautiful," May complimented, confusing Ash._

"_What was?" he asked, making May sweatdrop._

"_Your singing, silly!" May said, hitting Ash playfully. Ash blushed heavily._

"_You heard that?" Ash asked, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly._

"_Yes, and I want you to sing at my party too!" May said, Ash's jaw dropped._

"_Re-Really?" Ash stuttered._

"_Yes!" May said excitedly, clasping her hands together._

"_But… May, I've never played to an audience, I'm so nervous!" Ash exclaimed, running his hands through his hair, May pouted momentarily._

"_So play to me," she replied, smiling at Ash, who looked confused._

"_What do you mean?" Ash asked._

"_Well, ignore everyone else and picture yourself singing only to me," May said, "You did it just now, with only me here, so imagine yourself singing just to me later on tonight?" May suggested, and Ash thought about it for a moment._

"_That's brilliant, May!" Ash exclaimed, hugging May once more, "Thank you!"_

"_No problem, Ash, just glad to help," May replied, as they stood hugging for a few moments, before Ash realised something and leapt out of May's arms._

"_Here!" He exclaimed, grabbing May's present off the floor and handing it to her, "open it," he added, excitedly. May looked at it for a moment, stunned at Ash's sudden mood swing, before she regained her bearings and ripped off the wrapping paper, and found herself looking at a similar box to the one she had given Ash a month previous, for his birthday._

_May opened the box and inside was a green bandana, with some white symbols on it, she went to pull it out, but Ash made her freeze by uttering a few words._

"_Be careful when you unravel it."_

_May looked up at him confused, but Ash just gestured back to the bandana, May reached down and noticed that the bandana had been carefully folded around something. May slowly and carefully unravelled the bandana, and gasped at what was being cradled within._

"_Ash… It's beautiful," May said quietly, stunned by the gift her best friend had given her, she shifted it out of the bandana and into her hand._

"_I knew I had to get you something special... The bandana alone wasn't enough," Ash replied, smiling widely._

_Sat in May's hand was a necklace, the chain was silver, and on the chain was a gem, a sapphire, encased in a metal that was the same colour as the chain._

"_I got it because it matches your eyes," Ash said simply, before he moved forward and picked up the necklace, he moved around May so he was behind her, and shifted the necklace so it was in a position to be placed on May's neck._

_May shifted her hair out of the way and Ash wrapped the chain around her neck, and secured it round the back._

"_There," Ash said, walking back around May to inspect it._

"_Ash… it's perfect," May said, "Thank you," she said, stepping forward and embracing Ash, who reciprocated the gesture._

"_You're welcome, I had to get something special for my best friend," Ash replied, squeezing May tightly._

"_Well, I love it, Ash, thank you so much," May said, nuzzling her head into Ash's chest._

_-IYCSMN-_

"Five years on, and we're having practically the same conversation," May said, "And I'm going to give you exactly the same advice. Just sing to me," May said confidently.

"May, do you know how many people are going to be there tonight?" Ash asked, sitting down on his bed and putting his head in his hands.

"I don't know, fifty, sixty?" May guessed, sitting down next to Ash, who chuckled slightly.

"I'm glad you're sitting down," Ash said, his voice slightly muffled, "there's going to be almost two hundred people there."

May's jaw dropped, but she quickly shook it off, and smirked.

"Then I'll have to stand right at the front," she joked, taking Ash's hand and pulling him up off the bed, "now come on, you're going to smash it," May said, smiling back at Ash.

"Come on, Pi, we're going," Ash said, grabbing the black guitar case that held his electric guitar in it, not letting go of May's hand, and swinging it onto his shoulder, Pikachu then jumped from the bed and landed on Ash's opposite shoulder.

"How do you know there's going to be so many people?" May asked, as they reached the stairs.

"The owner told us, because it's his clubs re-opening after refurbishment, it's going to be heaving," Ash replied, "the club has been extended in size, and they've had a stage installed, so it'll be like playing at a proper venue," Ash added, letting go of May's hand so the two could descend the stairs.

"How did the owner find out about you?" May asked, looking back at Ash as she walked in front.

"Funny story, we were practising in the garage, and he happened to be walking down the road," Ash said, grinning, "He liked what he heard and asked us to put together a five or six song EP, which he then put on his clubs website, those six songs are the ones we're going to play tonight," Ash explained.

"Wow… And the EP is online?" May asked.

"Yeah, it can be downloaded from the website," Ash said, smiling to himself, as the two reached the bottom of the stairs, May turned and inspected Ash's choice of clothing.

"You look really nice, Ash," May complimented, smiling at him. This comment made Ash blush lightly, he was wearing a plain white short-sleeved t-shirt, with a sleeveless black collared shirt over the top, undone, and he wore black skinny jeans and white vans.

Ash smiled after he got over the butterflies that brewed in his stomach.

"Thanks May, you look very nice yourself," Ash replied, smiling brightly at her.

Now it was May's turn to blush.

"Thanks, Ash," May said, rubbing her arm sheepishly, something she tended to do when she was nervous.

"Just saying what I'm seeing," Ash said, winking, before walking past May and into the lounge, leaving the aforementioned brunette stunned.

Ash walked into the lounge, a small smile on his face. A voice snapped him out of his trance.

"Ash, you ready for this?" Max asked excitedly, bouncing up to Ash.

"So ready Max, this is gonna be great," Ash replied, hi-fiving his neighbour and band mate, before taking a look at the surprisingly empty lounge, Max, Ash and Giovanni were the only ones there.

Giovanni knew what Ash was going to ask before he had even said it.

"Everyone else has gone ahead, the club itself is shut to all but the band and family members attending, right up until about half an hour before show time," Giovanni explained, winking at Ash.

"What do you mean everyone else?" Ash asked, raising an eyebrow, making Giovanni smirk.

"Well, Dawn is currently using the bathroom, but to name the rest: your mother, me, Norman, Caroline, May, Johanna, Dawn, Samuel, Flint and Lola," Giovanni replied, smiling encouragingly at his son.

Ash gulped.

"So… Close friends and family… plus another two hundred…" Ash mumbled nervously, rubbing his forehead with his right hand.

He felt a comforting hand on his shoulder, and looked up to see his father smiling down at him.

"Ash, I've heard you play millions of times, and heard you sing almost as many, you are going to absolutely nail this," Giovanni encouraged, "You even write your own music! I wasn't doing that until I was twenty!" Giovanni exclaimed, Ash felt a burst of pride at his father's encouragement, Giovanni always knew the right things to say to Ash.

"Thanks, dad, I needed that," Ash said, giving Giovanni a hug, which the Viridian Gym Leader happily returned. Once Ash had broken the hug, he looked around.

"Pi's gone with your mother," Giovanni said, and Ash nodded, ever since Ash had been able to speak, he and his father had an almost telepathic communication, they knew what the other was thinking before they even said it. Ash had a similar bond with Pikachu.

"Good, he'll be there," Ash said, smiling. Giovanni frowned slightly.

"Ash, music is always a home for your pain," Giovanni said, confusing his son, "You're young, and may not understand yet, but… Music is a gift; it can come to you in all circumstances," Giovanni added.

"What do you mean, dad?" Ash asked, looking up at his father in confusion.

"As I said, you're young and may not understand, but you're songs, the inspiration for them has come to you at moments of heightened emotions, yes?" Giovanni asked, and Ash nodded.

"I still don't get it," Ash replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, Ash, the songs you have written for this gig are powerful," Giovanni complimented, smiling at Ash, "And you need to convey them with power, so while you're on stage, think of something that puts you into a state of heightened emotion," Giovanni advised, winking knowingly at Ash, who blushed heavily.

It was as if the universe was against Ash, as at that precise moment, May walked into the room with Max and Dawn, looking almost as flustered as Ash.

"May, are you alright?" Ash asked, noticing the flustered expression on May's face. May quickly forced a smile.

"Yes, Ash, I'm fine," Ash could tell she was lying, he also noticed the quick glare May shot Dawn, who just smirked back.

After Ash had complimented May's appearance, she had fallen into a trance, only to be snapped out of it when Dawn came out of the bathroom.

"You alright, May?" Dawn asked, looking at the brunette curiously.

"Yes, I'm fine," May replied, quickly nodding her head. Dawn smirked at her.

"You gonna be okay with all the female attention your man will be getting after his performance tonight?" Dawn teased, winking at May, whose face turned extremely red.

"Ash isn't my man!" May replied, she crossed her arms and turned her head away from Dawn, "and I don't care how much female attention he gets."

Dawn went to walk past her.

"Sure, sure," she muttered as she passed, just loud enough for May to hear.

"Fine! It will bother me… but only a little!" May insisted, making Dawn turn around and smirk.

"So you admit you have a thing for Ash?" Dawn asked, making May blush even further.

"No! I just won't like it if other girls pay him attention," May huffed.

It was a no win situation, but somehow, May had lost.

"I knew you liked him! You two would be so cute together!" Dawn squealed, and somehow, May blushed heavier.

"Ssh, Dawn! This is between you and me, okay?" May said firmly, and Dawn nodded vigorously.

"Of course, of course, just give time to work out a plan to get you two together," Dawn said, grinning mischievously, before May could respond, a voice spoke from behind Dawn.

"Get May together with who?" Max asked, his glasses seemed to sparkle with mischief.

"No one, no one!" May said quickly, waving her arms frantically in front of her.

"Is it Ash?" Max asked, smirking at May, who blushed again, and Max's face lit up, "I knew it!" he exclaimed.

"You can't tell him!" May said firmly, before walking past Dawn and Max and into the lounge, where an equally flustered looking Ash was stood with his father.

"May, are you alright?" May heard Ash ask, and she quickly forced a smile onto her face.

"Yes, Ash, I'm fine," May replied, she knew Ash could read through the fake smile and the lie, but she also knew that he wouldn't press any further.

Which was one of the many things May loved about her best friend.

**-IYCSMN-**

Ash strapped the guitar around his neck, and plugged in the radio adapter, that would sync up the guitar to the amplifiers stationed around the stage.

They were ready to go.

But Ash was still nervous. Normally, when Ash was nervous, he'd speak to his dad, or May, but at the moment, he was relying on his band mates to keep his spirits high. Ash turned to said band mates.

"Right, so we've all got the song order?" Ash asked, glancing at each individual face.

"Yes, Ash, Never Too Late, We Apologise For Nothing, The Pretender, Loverboy, Young & Stupid and Kiss Me," Gary reeled off, rolling his eyes at Ash.

"And you all know the drill with the opener?" Ash asked again.

"Yes, Ash, stop worrying, it's all going to go fine, just keep focused and you'll be fine buddy," Brock encouraged, placing a hand on Ash's shoulder. Ash sighed nervously.

"I know, but I just can't help it, how are you guys staying so calm?" Ash queried, hoping for some advice to help him through. Brock, Gary and Max all glanced at one another.

"Well, we just focus on what we're doing, what notes to be playing and such," Max explained, plugging his radio adapter into his bass guitar, Gary mimicked Max's actions on his own electric guitar.

The full band line-up was Brock on the drums, Max on bass guitar, Gary on electric guitar, and Ash on electric and occasionally acoustic guitar, and of course, on vocals.

Ash saw the lights go out on stage, and the crowd cheering, which was his signal to make his way on stage. Ash put his earpiece into his ear, so he would be able to hear the music and sing along/play in time.

The stage was pitch black when he walked out onto it, but white tape marked the spot on the floor where he needed to stand.

No one could see him as it was too dark, but that was the plan, when the band had arrived for sound testing, they also ran through the lighting cues. Ash knew as soon as he started playing, the spotlight would be on him, so he had a couple of seconds to gather himself.

With his excellent eyesight, he was able to pick out his friends and family just slightly to the right of him, at the front of the crowd, which was an impressive size for a relatively unknown band. He heard movements on his left and right, indicating Gary and Max were in position.

He had to start playing.

**(I would recommend that you put Never Too Late, by Three Days Grace on for the next bit.)**

Ash plucked at the strings with his pick, and as he expected the spotlight shone on him instantaneously, fortunately for his nerves, he was blinded by the light, so was unable to see the crowd, who in response, cheered loudly.

Ash's confidence grew as he started to sing.

_This world will never be_

_What I expected_

_And if I don't belong_

_Who would have guessed it?_

Brock joined in with his drums, making a spotlight shine on him, Max and Gary joined in moments later, identical spotlights shining on them, as they started playing.

_I will not leave alone_

_Everything that I own_

_To make you feel like it's not too late_

_It's never too late_

As they reached the chorus, the spotlights dropped and the stage lights exploded into action, which then proceeded to dance and move around the stage, in time with the music.

_Even if I say_

_It'll be alright_

_Still I hear you say_

_You want to end your life_

_Now and again we try_

_To just stay alive_

_Maybe we'll turn it all around_

_'Cause it's not too late_

_It's never too late_

_No one will ever see_

_This side reflected_

_And if there's something wrong_

_Who would have guessed it?_

_And I have left alone_

_Everything that I own_

_To make you feel like_

_It's not too late_

_It's never too late_

Ash shot a glance down towards his friends and family, the temporary blinding from the spotlight had faded, and he could see clearly. What he saw made his stomach soar, his dad had his arm round his mum, and they were both singing along with Ash's song. In that moment Ash felt a sense of pride he was almost certain he'd never feel again.

_Even if I say_

_It'll be alright_

_Still I hear you say_

_You want to end your life_

_Now and again we try_

_To just stay alive_

_Maybe we'll turn it all around_

_'Cause it's not too late_

_It's never too late_

_The world we knew_

_Won't come back_

_The time we've lost_

_Can't get back_

_The life we had_

_Won't be ours again_

_This world will never be_

_What I expected_

_And if I don't belong_

_Even if I say_

_It'll be alright_

_Still I hear you say_

_You want to end your life_

_Now and again we try_

_To just stay alive_

_Maybe we'll turn it all around_

_'Cause it's not too late_

_It's never too late_

_Maybe we'll turn it all around_

_'Cause it's not too late_

_It's never too late (It's never too late)_

_It's not too late_

_It's never too late_

The lights dropped and a solo spotlight appeared on Ash has he played the song out, once he had finished, the spotlight dropped from him, leaving them in darkness.

A rapturous applause rang out from the crowd, and Ash smiled to himself.

**-IYCSMN-**

Moments before Ash came on the stage, his friends and family were watching the stage in anticipation.

Giovanni and May appeared to be the most interested and, the most anxious.

The former turned to his wife.

"Do you think he's going to be okay? He seemed so nervous," Giovanni asked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"He'll be fine, Gio, once he gets started his nerves will disappear, you, of all people should remember that," Delia said, winking at Giovanni, who blushed in embarrassment.

Giovanni himself had been in a band when he was younger, when he was around the age of 20, so he knew all about pre-gig jitters.

"You're right Delia, as always," Giovanni replied cheekily, to which Delia smirked.

May was watching the conversation with a light smile on her face, but the way that Giovanni and Delia acted, made her think about what Dawn had been saying earlier.

Would she be able to deal with the attention that Ash would inevitably be getting post-show?

Probably not.

May had a huge crush on Ash, which she linked back to the first time they had met, and he'd given her an Eevee, despite her being scared of Pokémon, Ash had faith in her that she'd look after that Eevee, and she did, becoming almost as close to Eevee as Ash was to Pikachu.

May desperately wanted to tell Ash how she felt, but she was afraid, what if he didn't love her back? She'd lose the best friend she'd ever have; Arceus knows that was the last thing May wanted.

She only snapped out of her daze when Ash started to play, which made her gaze up at her crush, despite her knowing that he was nervous about this gig, he looked so confident and in control.

May watched on in awe as Ash skilfully introduced the song with his opening melody, May was amazed to hear that Ash wrote all his own songs, both guitar sections and lyrics, on all the songs the band had produced.

May shot a glance over at Delia and Giovanni, and felt a warm feeling in her stomach, Giovanni had his arm around Delia, and they were both singing along, a strong look of pride written on both their faces. Giovanni noticed May looking at him and shot her a warm smile, May could tell that they were both extremely proud of their son.

So was May.

She had always been amazed by Ash, from the moment she met him, when he was lying on the floor with the winded then-Pichu, when he dazzled her and her family with his mental capabilities, even at the age of five, right up to now, stood on stage with his guitar, playing his own music.

And then when he started to sing, Arceus, May almost melted on the spot.

The song itself was quite a hopeful song, about being depressed and seeing a way out of it, but the way Ash sung, also made it incredibly powerful.

When the song ended, May felt a proud feeling buzz in her stomach at the way the huge crowd applauded and reacted at the end of the song.

**-IYCSMN-**

Ash was sweating quite heavily; the club itself was quite hot, and after five out of six songs, Ash was even warmer, he wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead, whilst the lights were switched off.

Ash grinned, the gig had gone perfectly, everyone had hit their notes and cues, Ash was especially proud of Max, the youngest member of the band had flourished, and seemed to enjoy himself throughout.

Ash heard movement around him in preparation for their final song of the night, and a feeling of fear gripped his heart, this was the moment he was dreading.

He knew it was risky picking a love song for his final choice, especially when he had written it about May, who was stood right at the front of the crowd.

"_Just sing to me," _May's advice rang around Ash's head, and he smiled slightly.

Little did she know he had already planned to.

Ash pulled out the headset microphone he had been given for this specific song, and slipped it into his ear, before turning on the box strapped to his waist, which would activate the microphone.

The spotlight came up on Ash; once the technical staff had noticed his microphone had switched on, a pre-determined signal.

The crowd cheered loudly, making Ash smile once more. He walked to the edge of the stage and sat down, with his legs dangling off the stage, and his guitar perched on his lap.

"I'm very sad to say that this is our last song tonight," Ash said, repositioning into a slightly more comfortable position, "But we'd like to thank you all for your incredible support tonight and obviously, the owner of the club, Mr. Satoshi, for this wonderful opportunity," Ash said, the crowd responded accordingly to Ash's words.

"This is a love song," Ash said briefly, "1… 2… 3… 4."

On Ash's cue, his band mates started playing.

**(A/N: I recommend you play Kiss Me, by Ed Sheeran here, and in addition, Max plays the piano/keyboard for this song, instead of Bass Guitar.)**

_Settle down with me_

_Cover me up _

_Cuddle me in_

_Lie down with me _

_Hold me in your arms _

Ash didn't dare to look up at his family or May, so he sat on the edge of the stage, eyes closed, not playing his guitar yet, just singing.

_Your heart's against my chest _

_Lips pressed to my neck _

_I've fallen for your eyes _

_But they don't know me yet _

_And the feeling I forget _

_I'm in love now _

Ash opened his eyes as they reached the chorus, and was stunned by what he saw, lighters and phones had been raised in the air by members of the audience, and every single person was swaying their arms along, making Ash smile.

_Kiss me like you wanna be loved _

_Wanna be loved _

_Wanna be loved _

_This feels like I've fallen in love _

_Fallen in love _

_Fallen in love _

_Settle down with me _

_And I'll be your safety _

_You'll be my lady _

_I was made to keep your body warm _

_But I'm cold as, the wind blows _

_So hold me in your arms_

Ash shot a subtle glance at May, without her noticing, and she was stood with her hands clasped together in front of her heart, tears gleaming in her eyes, Ash closed his eyes once more, and focused in on his vocals.

_My heart's against your chest _

_Your lips pressed to my neck _

_I've fallen for your eyes _

_But they don't know me yet _

_And the feeling I forget _

_I'm in love now _

_Kiss me like you wanna be loved _

_Wanna be loved _

_Wanna be loved _

_This feels like I've fallen in love _

_Fallen in love _

_Fallen in love _

This was Ash's cue to start playing his guitar, a little bit of a solo for him, just before it was time, though; he hopped off the stage, so he was on the same level as the audience, and walked over to where his friends and family were standing. He grinned at them as he walked over, and they all beamed back at him, as he performed his guitar solo.

The next part of the song he sang incredibly powerfully, looking straight at May with a smirk on his face, which gave the brunette butterflies.

_Yeah I've been feeling everything _

_From hate to love _

_From love to lust _

_From lust to truth _

_I guess that's how I know you _

_So I hold you close _

_To help you give it up _

Ash looked to his parents, who were still in the same position as earlier, both with tears of joy and pride in their eyes, beaming back at Ash as they sang along.

_So kiss me like you wanna be loved _

_Wanna be loved _

_Wanna be loved _

_This feels like I've fallen in love _

_Fallen in love _

_Fallen in love_

Ash grinned at his friends and family once more, before walking back over to the stage, and hopping up onto his sitting position once more, to complete the song, and their set.

_So kiss me like you wanna be loved _

_Wanna be loved _

_Wanna be loved _

_This feels like I've fallen in love _

_Fallen in love _

_Fallen in love_

Ash took a deep breath. It was over. Their first proper gig at a proper venue. He smiled to himself before walking over to Gary, then Max, then Brock, high-fiving each one individually, before returning to the Condenser microphone that was still perched on its stand.

"Again, from all of us, I'd like to thank you all for coming to support us, you've been an absolutely incredible audience," Ash said honestly, a wide smile on his face. The crowd cheered in response.

"We've been Raw Uprising, and we hope to see you soon," Ash said, departing the stage with a wave and a bow.

As soon as Ash was backstage with Max, Gary and Brock, he leaned against a wall and slid down it, a small grin on his face.

"You okay, Ash?" Brock asked, looking down at his raven-haired friend in concern.

"I'm fine, Brock, just need to get in the shower and get changed, did Mr. Satoshi say that there were showers in the dressing rooms?" Ash queried, Brock nodded in response, "Good, if you guys are heading out to the club, can you let my parents know?" Ash asked, and again, Brock nodded, a small smile on his face.

Ash stood up, and patted each of his band mates on the shoulder, grinning at them, as he passed, before heading off to the dressing rooms alone.

**-IYCSMN-**

Ash received multiple pats on the back, and congratulations as he squeezed his way through the crowd at the club, smiling and thanking people as he passed, making his way towards his friends and family, who stayed where they were whilst the band had been on stage, during the time that Ash had been freshening himself up. He had changed into some spare skinny jeans, and a plain black polo shirt, his hat, that he had been given on his tenth birthday by May, sat on his head, and he had put his white vans back on.

Ash guided himself through the crowd, until a brown blur flew into him, and he felt a pair of arms wrap around him, at first he thought it was his mother, but then he realised that it was May.

He blushed heavily. But that faded when he noticed that May had buried her face completely into his chest, something she only did when she was crying.

"What's wrong, May?" Ash asked, trying to pry her away from him, so he could try and figure out what was wrong. May pulled her face back to reveal a huge smile, which confused Ash.

"You were amazing!" May squealed, her eyes glistening with tears, but not tears of sadness, tears of joy; the pride May was feeling was evident on her face.

Ash felt a funny feeling bubbling up in his stomach, as he smiled down at May. Even though they were only fifteen, Ash had a good foot in height on May, being able to rest his chin on the top of May's head.

"Thank you, May, that means a lot," Ash replied, a huge smile on his face. The two pulled apart, but May grabbed a hold of Ash's hand.

"C'mon, I'll take you to the others," May said, smiling back at Ash, as she pulled him along.

Ash let himself be led through the crowd by May.

"So, Ashy," May said slyly, glancing back at Ash, "Who was that love song about?" May teased, winking at Ash, who, somehow with his stomach bubbling, managed to keep his cool.

"You'll find out someday," Ash replied, winking back, and May rolled her eyes, before turning her head, so that Ash couldn't see the look of disappointment that instantly came across May's face.

After approximately half a minute, the duo found their way to their friends and family, and Ash's parents instantly rushed over to Ash, as did Pikachu, who leapt onto Ash's shoulder instantly, and started rubbing his cheek against Ash's.

"Ash, honey, we're so proud of you!" Delia squealed, grabbing hold of Ash and squeezing him tightly, making the teen choke.

"Mum! You're squashing me!" Ash complained, making Delia let go of him.

Giovanni placed his hand on Ash's shoulder, drawing the raven-haired teenager's attention.

"I'm so proud of you, Ash," Giovanni said, smiling at his son, before pulling him into a tight hug, Ash smiled in the embrace.

"Thanks, dad, but I learnt from the best," Ash replied, smiling back at Giovanni as the two pulled apart.

The two smiled at each other, before a cheeky look came over Giovanni's face, and Ash noticed, instantly.

He gulped.

"Who was that last song about?" Giovanni mouthed, winking at Ash.

He blushed.

Ash gave the game away, by shooting a quick glance at May.

Giovanni smiled at his embarrassed son.

"She's perfect for you," Giovanni said quietly, once again placing his hand on Ash's shoulder.

Ash was so flushed that he almost fainted on the spot.

**EOC**

**A bit of a filler, and apologies that it took so long, I got really stuck on the NAME of the band, which has frustrated me no end, plus trying to write the scenes in while he's on stage was something I've not really attempted before, so that was a challenge.**

**REVIEWS:**

**LegitEmi: Thank you! I hope you enjoy this chapter too!**

**Ultratron562: I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter! Lucky it isn't an oneshot then, right!**

**LittleMissMidnight: Wow, thank you so much! I don't think I've ever had such a positive, in-depth review, and I really appreciate it, I'm glad you like the way I portray the characters! Hopefully in the next couple of chapters the AU should become more prominent, with regards to the school aspect that I wanted to add to this story.**

**Ashura Satoshi: I'm glad you did read it, because I'm a massive fan of your own work, so it's quite an honour to have a review from you, and I'm really glad you enjoyed it, thank you!**

**Hopefully the next chapter should be up sooner, because I've got a lot of plans for the next couple of chapters.**

**A review would be extremely appreciated!**

**~AF~**


	3. Taken

Ash gritted his teeth.

This was the battle of his Seventeen year-old life, and he desperately needed to win.

He surveyed the battlefield in front of him. Pikachu was stood in a battle stance in front of him, panting heavily.

Ash was one of the top students at Kanto Pokémon Regional High, especially in Advanced Battle class. At the end of every month, the students were tested on their main subjects, there were three: Pokémon Battling, Pokémon Contests and Pokémon Breeding, students could only choose one of these main subjects, and then had to accompany it with anywhere between three and six other subjects of their choice.

For Ash, at the end of each month, he had to complete a practical and written assessment of his abilities, and was scored according to how well he did. Each month's score was accumulated to the end of the year, and the overall grade that Ash would receive, would be based on that score.

So far, Ash's score was almost flawless.

In this particular battle, he had only used Pikachu, and had knocked out two of the assessors three Pokémon.

Over years of holidays with his family, Ash had accrued a selection of powerful and varied Pokémon, from all over the Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh and even Unova regions, so Ash was confident in recalling Pikachu, if it came to it.

The battlefield itself was one of four in this part of the school, the fields were stationed in two rows of two, and they were enclosed by large bleachers that circled around the room.

Ash was well aware of both his parents sitting in the stands, alongside May and her boyfriend, Drew; both of them were taking Pokémon Contests as their main subject. May and Drew had been together almost half a year, and Ash still hated it.

As May's best friend, he had tried to be happy for her, and tried to support the relationship, but as far as Ash was concerned, Drew was just an arrogant prick. Ash and Drew's personalities clashed completely, so Ash had started distancing himself from the couple, this was also the case on his and May's alone time, before May and Drew had started dating, Ash and May would spend time together almost every day, now, it was barely scraping once a week.

But Ash wanted May to be happy, and if she was happy with that son of a bitch, then Ash had no choice.

There was only one thing that cheered Ash up about the situation. His dad. Giovanni had a major disliking for Drew as well, probably because he was one of the only people who knew about Ash's feelings for the brunette coordinator. Giovanni would often sling sly comments at Drew, which would go under the radar, and almost refused to treat Drew with the same respect he did everyone else.

And Ash loved him even more for it.

Ash snapped out of his train of thought when the assessor revealed his final Pokémon, and Ash smirked as it formed in front of him. It was a Shedinja.

Ash knew that the assessor was testing him on his knowledge of abilities; Ash knew that Shedinja had an ability that prevents it from taking damage from anything other than a Super Effective attack, weather effects or condition effects.

"Pikachu, that's enough, you've done brilliantly, come on back," Ash called out, causing Pikachu to turn on the spot and rush back over to Ash, leaping on his shoulder, "thanks, buddy," Ash added, smiling at his faithful companion, before his face turned serious and he looked over at the assessor.

He grabbed a Poké Ball from his belt, and expanded it.

"Come on out, Glalie!" Ash called, throwing the ball into the air. It opened, revealing his large ice Pokémon, which floated in front of him.

The assessor looked intrigued by Ash's decision, but pushed it aside.

"Shedinja, use Shadow Ball!" the assessor commanded, this made Ash smirk; he already knew that he'd won with that command.

"Glalie, just hold your position," Ash said, waiting for the bug-ghost type to launch his attack.

The ball formed in front of Shedinja, and was then launched across the battlefield, striking Glalie, and knocking him back a couple of inches.

"Good, now use Payback," Ash commanded, the assessor's eyes widened in shock. Glalie launched the attack so quickly, that the assessor had no chance to get Shedinja to dodge, and the super-effective Dark-type move, knocked out the assessor's final Pokémon, giving Ash the victory.

Not quite the sweep Ash had been hoping for, but the flawless victory would get him a large amount of points towards his final grade.

"That was brilliant, Glalie, thank you," Ash thanked his Ice type, recalling the Pokémon to his ball, before his attention was caught by the assessor, who had walked over.

"That was impressive, Ash, I was surprised by the switch into Glalie, but you certainly knew what you were doing with regards to Shedinja's Wonder Guard ability," the assessor commented, "As you know, the written assessment will take place next week, on the 14th," the assessor added, shaking Ash's hand, which was standard procedure at the end of any assessment.

"_Aahh yes, thank goodness I'll be busy on Valentine's Day then," _Ash thought, shooting an unnoticed glance up in May and Drew's direction. For once, Ash was grateful that he had an exam on Valentine's Day, as usually, even though he and May weren't a couple, they'd usually spend the day together, but Ash was grateful for the exam, and for the fact that he could use revising as an excuse to not have to see May.

As horrible as it sounded, to Ash, seeing May nowadays, was just not an option.

Ash looked back up towards May, and noticed that his parents weren't there anymore. Ash assumed that his dad had to return to his Gym, shortly after Ash's fifteenth birthday, Giovanni had been installed as the new Pallet Town Gym Leader, at Giovanni's own request, to be working closer to his family, May's father, Norman, had taken over the roll as Viridian City Gym Leader. Ash also assumed that his mum was waiting for him so that they could go home, but May and Drew were still sat in the bleachers, not looking down at Ash as they were too busy talking to each other.

That was what it was like for Ash since the two had got together, he was either a third wheel, or not involved at all.

Ash sighed as he turned and walked towards the exit, shooting one final fleeting glance up at the couple, before he left the Battle Room. Pikachu looked at Ash, from his shoulder, with a worried expression.

"Pikapi?" Pikachu said quietly, scanning Ash's face.

Ash looked at Pikachu and smiled sadly.

"Six months and I still can't get used to it," Ash replied, rubbing the back of his neck, before pushing the double doors open, so he could finally get away from the Battle Room; and May and Drew.

"Pika… Pikachu," Pikachu said sadly, his ears drooped slightly. Pikachu knew how much Ash was hurting about this, and how much he was trying to hide it, but Pikachu knew his Pikapi, and knew him damn well, and he could tell that Ash was putting on a brave face.

Pikachu knew from the moment Ash had stopped wearing his hat.

Yes, the hat that May had bought Ash for the latter's tenth birthday, for three and a half months, had been sat in the box it had been gifted to Ash in. Pikachu knew that Ash saw it as a symbol of his and May's friendship, so Pikachu also knew that Ash considered the friendship void.

And Pikachu couldn't stand it.

Almost his entire life, Pikachu had watched the world from Ash's shoulder, seen Ash's mistakes and triumphs, his flaws and his greatness, and Pikachu knew that one of the key parts of Ash's greatness, was May.

Ever since Pikachu had been a little Pichu, he had seen the connection between Ash and May, and he knew that it was much more than just a plain old friendship.

What Pikachu found worse than Ash refusing to wear the hat, was the fact that May _hadn't even noticed_.

Pikachu was snapped out of his thoughts by Ash's dad.

"Well that was mightily impressive, wouldn't you say?" Giovanni rhetorically asked, raising his arms in the air and smirking at Ash, who smiled back weakly, before looking around in confusion.

"Where's mum?" Ash asked, raising an eyebrow at Giovanni.

"She had to rush off to the hospital; one of her patients has gone into labour early," Giovanni explained, before placing a hand on Ash's shoulder, and guiding him towards the buildings exit, so that they could head home.

"That was an incredible battle Ash, you and Pikachu seem even more in sync than ever," Giovanni complimented, giving the aforementioned electric mouse a quick scratch on the top of his head.

Pikachu almost purred happily, only Ash and Giovanni knew the spots that Pikachu loved to be scratched.

"Thanks, dad, I learnt from the best though," Ash said, smiling up at his dad, but not by much, since Ash had turned Seventeen, he'd had a major growth spurt, and was almost taller than his father.

"And then the Shedinja! I actually worried for a moment, as I thought you were going to stick with Pikachu, but the decision to use Glalie? Genius!" Giovanni exclaimed, a broad smile on his face, "You completely threw the assessor off!"

Ash blushed at the praise he was receiving.

"When did you teach Glalie Payback?" Giovanni asked, looking over at his flushed son.

"Well, Professor Oak gave me the Technical Machine for it on my Sixteenth birthday, and I thought with an assessment approaching, it might be worth teaching it to someone, luckily I brought Glalie with me," Ash explained, smiling nervously and rubbing the back of his head once more.

The three had exited the school, and now faced the short walk to their house, which was approximately a five minute walk, possibly not even that.

"The decision to let Shedinja attack first to boost Paybacks power was an incredibly good move, too!" Giovanni praised, his smile growing wider, "I know you're going to be a fantastic trainer once you graduate, and I'm almost certain you'll win Regional titles," Giovanni added, placing his hand on Ash's shoulder once more, and beaming over at his stunned son.

"You really think I'll win regional titles?" Ash asked, slightly perplexed, he never envisioned himself beating eight Gym Leaders of a Region, let alone winning a Regional Tournament!

"Of course," Giovanni said, saying it in a way that made it sound as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "I've seen the Pokémon that you've captured an trained whilst we've been over to different regions on holiday, they'd be capable of winning any Tournament, especially with you guiding them," Giovanni praised his son.

They smiled at each other when as they walked.

"_And then May will realise the mistake she's made choosing that arrogant little shit, Drew, over you… That'll make her realise," _Giovanni thought to himself.

Giovanni glanced over at his son, and noticed Ash looking thoughtful, and Giovanni instantly knew he was thinking along the similar lines.

"She'll come to her senses eventually, I know she will," Giovanni said, squeezing Ash's shoulder encouragingly as they walked.

Ash was surprised by his father's comment, but that quickly dissipated as the comment actually sunk in.

"Yeah… I hope so," Ash muttered, before looking over at Giovanni, "thanks dad, you're the best!" Ash exclaimed, hugging his dad, "I'm so glad I've got you to go to for advice," Ash added, looking up at his dad from the hug.

"No problem, Ash, I'll always be here to give you advice," Giovanni replied, smiling back at Ash.

The two stayed like that before Ash gave his dad another quick hug.

"Thanks dad," Ash said, smiling at Giovanni once more, before the two continued on home.

**-IYCSMN-**

Ash scribbled furiously.

He had plenty of time left to complete the paper in front of him, but he needed his hands to catch up with his head.

Ash was currently sat around eleven rows back in the hall, with the entire room being full of other students, sat at identical desks to Ash. All students sat their respective main subject tests at the same time, one third was Trainers, one third was Coordinators and the final third was Breeders, so May was also in the room, and with it going in alphabetical order, she was three columns across, in line with Ash, who shot May a quick look.

She was wearing a rose in her hair, which Ash could only assume Drew had given it to her for Valentine's Day, which was this precise day.

Ash was grateful for the exams taking place on Valentine's Day, as it gave him the perfect reason not to have to see May, so all in all, Ash felt it was going to be a good day.

Things hadn't been any better between Ash and May since the former's practical assessment, the two hadn't spoken to each other at all, it was almost like they'd had a huge fight, when in reality, Ash was slipping away, and May was letting him.

Ash didn't want to do it, May was his best human friend, but since she had started dating Drew, she had either always been with Drew, or always talking about Drew.

It drove Ash crazy.

Ash looked back at his paper, he had a few multiple choice questions to come, and then at the end, he'd have to write an essay about a topic posed by the examiners, all of which, Ash found relatively easy; his eidetic memory and passion for Pokémon and battling, was a fantastic combination for this test.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the door to the exam hall swing open, and a man Ash didn't recognise walked in, but for some reason, Ash was intrigued by the new arrival.

The man walked over to one of the invigilators stood at the front of the hall, and the two had a brief conversation, before they both looked over to Ash, who really should have made it look like he was still writing, but for some reason, he couldn't tear his attention away from them.

The invigilator made a gesture for Ash to go over to them, but Ash wasn't sure if they were gesturing to him, so he pointed a finger at himself, to which the invigilator nodded.

Ash stood up quietly and made his way to the front of the hall, he shot one more fleeting glance back at May, before he reached the duo waiting for him.

She was looking at him quizzically, but Ash didn't feel like making a gesture back, so he just turned away from her, and looked back to the front of the hall, where the invigilator was waiting for him, the unknown man had already left the room.

When Ash reached the invigilator, the latter guided Ash towards the door, which confused Ash even more, but he went along with it anyway, hoping that whatever this was, he'd be able to get back to the test with enough time to complete his paper.

Ash quietly slipped out of the hall, and the invigilator gently closed the door behind him. Ash emerged out onto a slim corridor, with the strange man stood in front of him.

"Ash, would you please come with me?" the man requested, even though the man had a serious look, with regards to clothing – he wore a black suit and a black tie, with a white collared shirt underneath, he even had sunglasses on – his tone of voice held compassion, which surprised Ash slightly, but confused him even more.

"O-kay?" Ash said, his confusion evident in the way he spoke, "Where are we going?" Ash asked, as he set off, walking just behind the suited man.

"Ash, I'm really sorry to have to be the one to tell you this… But your father has had a heart attack."

That was all Ash heard.

He heard a shattering in his head, and a pain in his chest, right where his heart was, making it feel like that was where the shattering took place.

_Your father has had a heart attack._

Ash's body went into autopilot; he just followed the suited man, feeling hollow and broken inside, but no tears would come to the teen. He didn't know what to do, he wanted to cry, he wanted to curl up in a ball and just sleep, he just wanted this to be a nightmare and to wake up.

But none of it happened.

_Your father has had a heart attack._

He felt too broken to cry, it felt like an arrow had pierced straight through his chest.

Somehow, his body got him into the car that would take him somewhere; he wasn't sure where as he hadn't been able focus on what the suited man was saying.

Ash was stuck in a trance.

_Your father has had a heart attack._

Ash suddenly felt claustrophobic inside his own head, walls started closing in, and his vision started blurring, his head throbbed and his eyes ached. Ash started hyperventilating, and he became aware of a hand on his shoulder. Female. He looked up and through blurred vision saw brown hair.

He lunged forward and hugged his mother, emotions final getting the best of him.

Ash broke down in tears, clinging onto Delia.

Ash didn't know how, or when, they'd arrived at the hospital, or even how he had found his way to Delia, but in that moment, he didn't care.

The only things in the world that mattered in that instance, was his broken mother, his broken heart and his broken father, lying in a near-death state on the other side of a white door.

Ash wasn't sure how much time had passed, but he never let go of his mum, they cried with each other, held each other, stood in the middle of a hospital hallway, until eventually a doctor emerged from the room that Ash's father was in.

"Mrs Ketchum?" the doctor asked gently, causing Ash and Delia to pull apart, turning towards the doctor, both with bloodshot eyes.

"That's me," Delia replied, Ash had never heard her sound so broken, her voice cracked as many times as was humanly possible.

"Would you and your son like to come in?" the doctor asked, gesturing towards the door. Delia turned to Ash, inspecting his facial expression, but, for the first time, Delia couldn't figure out what Ash's expression was, but she knew he wanted to see Giovanni.

So did she.

"Yes please, doctor," Delia replied, and the doctor lead them to the room, but Delia stopped Ash just before they entered.

"Ashy… You need to brace yourself for this," she said gently, rubbing Ash's arm.

She received no response.

Ash just walked into the room, holding the door open for Delia. As Delia walked past Ash, she tried to read his facial expression once more, but she couldn't, for two reasons, he avoided eye contact with her, and his expression was like staring at a brick wall.

They both looked up at the hospital bed at the same time, and the sight made Delia's hand shoot up to cover her mouth, tears instantaneously started rolling down her cheeks.

Ash didn't know how to react, he just stared blankly at his father, the hospital covers were pulled up to his mid-torso, tucked into his armpits, so his arms were laid down next to him, a heart monitor was beeping extremely slowly, his face was pale and his eyes were closed.

The usually handsome man looked like a sullen corpse.

Delia's gaze turned to her feet as the tears poured down her face, whereas Ash stared blankly at Giovanni.

"I'm really sorry, but he's only just hanging onto consciousness… I'm afraid that he won't hold on much longer," the doctor said quietly.

_He won't hold on much longer._

Ash had resigned himself to the truth.

_Your father has had a heart attack_

This was it.

_He won't hold on much longer._

The moment he thought he wouldn't have to face for at least another twenty, thirty years.

_Your father has had a heart attack._

He was going to have to stand by his father's side.

_He won't hold on much longer._

And say goodbye.

_Your father has had a heart attack._

For the final time.

_He won't hold on much longer._

Ash watched, ripped to his core, as the heart monitor flat lined.

_Your father has had a heart attack._

And just like that, his father was gone.

_He won't hold on much longer._

He couldn't hold on at all.

_Your father has had a heart attack._

Ash couldn't feel anything but a throbbing in his chest.

_He won't hold on much longer._

All Ash could do, was stand, hollow, staring at his father's lifeless form, the words repeating over and over in his head.

_Your father has had a heart attack._

_He won't hold on much longer._

Ash could feel something change instantly inside him, his entire world felt weaker, colder, lonelier, he was not aware of the doctor talking to his mother, he was not aware of his mother crying into his chest, he was not aware that he was holding her.

There was only one thing that Ash was aware of.

His father, the greatest man had ever known, was gone. Taken from him.

The worst thing?

Ash never even got to say goodbye, never got to say "I love you" one more time.

He had arrived just in time to watch the most influential person in his life, slip away from him, in front of his very eyes.

Ash felt small, insignificant, powerless, unable to help the man that had given him _everything_, in his greatest time of need, Ash couldn't do a thing.

He felt physically sick.

He felt guilty.

He felt worthless.

Three words found their way to Ash's throat, as tears finally came to the broken raven-haired teen; they came out as little more than a whisper.

"Please come back."

**EOC**

**This scene… damn. I was going to add an additional scene in from May's perspective, but that will be in the next chapter instead, as I wanted to end the chapter there.**

**So, the major plot point has occurred, Giovanni has passed away, and this is where we see Ash derail, I've got some good ideas in my head, I just hope I'll put them to paper in the right way.**

**I do have to apologize for the Contestshipping spontaneously popping up, but it's vital to the Advanceshipping subplot.**

**REVIEWS:**

**Ashura Satoshi: Thanks pal! I wasn't sure about it, due to the amount of focus on the gig, but I'm glad you enjoyed it!**

**LittleMissMidnight: I know right? For some reason I see Ash and I either think Three Days Grace, or You Me At Six, no idea why! I've always struggled writing emotions, I hope I was able to do so better in this chapter; it was really difficult to write that last scene. I'm really pleased I was abloe to effectively portray Giovanni as the perfect family figure; I felt it was integral to the story. How is the box of feels now? Mine is torn to shreds.**

**A review is always greatly appreciated!**

**~AF~**


	4. If You Could See Me Now

May was seriously confused.

She'd never received such a cold, blank look from Ash in her life, even when they were in exams and they made eye contact, there would be some form of communicating gesture, be it a wink or a sly smile.

But Ash had just stared her down, and then turned his back on her.

And then, to make matters worse, Ash hadn't come back, and had been ignoring all of May's calls.

May sat cross legged on her bed, around five hours after the exam, frowning at her phone, waiting for Ash's picture to appear, indicating he was calling her back. May must have left at least fifteen messages so far, through texts and voicemail.

She sighed, what had she done wrong? Why was Ash ignoring her like this? May didn't have the slightest idea.

She put her head in her hands, and then ran her hands through her long brunette hair, knocking out the rose that Drew had given her earlier in the day, before their exam.

May just stared at the rose, which was now on her bead, before she stood up and walked to her wardrobe. She opened up the wardrobe and kneeled down in front of a drawer in the bottom half of the wardrobe; May slid the drawer open and inside, sat a green bandana, folded up neatly.

May carefully lifted up the bandana, flipping it over in her hands, so that the folded parts where facing up at her, May unfolded it, and inside sat a beautiful necklace, a sapphire sat on the chain, encased in a silver metal, on a chain of the same silver material.

Anyone seeing it would assume that her boyfriend, Drew, would have been the one who bought it for her, but no.

Ash had.

On May's tenth birthday, he had bought her both the green bandana and the sapphire necklace.

But since May had started dating Drew, she had stopped wearing both of them, feeling that it would be best that she didn't wear something another boy had bought her.

Little did May know, that her not wearing them was breaking her friendship with Ash.

May frowned down at the two objects, before she unclipped the chain, and slipped it around her neck, fastening it on the other side, and then placing the bandana on her head and tying it up tightly, smiling at how both the objects still fitted perfectly.

May sighed contently, a small smile on her face, before a thought struck her.

She seriously needed advice.

May stood up sharply, before walking out of her bedroom and down the stairs.

In a similar way that Ash always went to Giovanni for advice, May would always go to Caroline for advice. May entered the lounge, and saw her mum sat on the sofa watching the news. May faltered slightly, did she really need to ask her mum for advice about this?

Of course she did, this was _Ash_, there was no way she wasn't going to sort this out.

"Mum, I need your help," May said, grabbing Caroline's attention, who turned from the television to face May.

"What's wrong, honey?" Caroline asked, looking at her daughter with a worried expression.

"Well, I've got some boy troubles…" May said shyly, rubbing the back of her neck nervously.

"You're not pregnant, are you?" Caroline asked instantly, making May blush heavily.

"No! Me and Drew haven't done anything... no, this is about Ash," May said, moving from the doorway and sitting down on the opposite end of the sofa to her mother.

"Ohh, so you've finally realised that something's wrong with your friendship?" Caroline replied, shifting her body position slightly so she was facing May more.

"What do you mean, finally?" May asked, confused, Caroline raised an eyebrow.

"You mean you haven't noticed all this time that he's been drifting away?" Caroline asked, reaching to the coffee table that sat beside her end of the sofa, and taking a sip of her tea.

May furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"What do you mean he's drifting away?" May asked, feeling a panging sensation in her heart.

"Well, I, for one, haven't seen him here, or with you, for a good couple of months, seems like he's drifting away from you, and you're letting him," Caroline explained, shrugging as she spoke.

"Why would Ash be drifting away from me? I haven't done anything wrong?" May said, rather stubbornly, crossing her arms.

"Maybe it's a new part of your life that has restricted your time with Ash?" Caroline hinted, carefully watching May's expressions. This comment hurt May.

"You're saying it's Drew?" May asked, sounding quite angry, Caroline frowned at May's reaction.

"I'm surprised that you haven't seen it May," Caroline said, sounding disappointed, "You've given yourself no time to spend with Ash, and whenever you do make plans with him, you either only talk about Drew, or are with Drew," Caroline explained, once more taking a sip of her tea.

"Why would me being in a relationship with Drew affect my friendship with Ash? He's my best friend, he should be happy for me!" May exclaimed angrily, looking away from Caroline, with a stubborn expression written on her face.

Caroline frowned again.

"May… Ash is drifting _because _he wants you to be happy…" Caroline said gently, placing a hand on May's leg. May looked at Caroline's hand on her leg, then up to her mother's face, looking at her quizzically.

"How does that work?" May asked, scratching her head slightly, confusion evident in her voice. Caroline looked thoughtful for a moment, trying to figure out how to explain the situation to May.

"Well, Ash thinks you're happy with Drew, right?" May nodded, "So, he's probably drifting, to make sure you have time for Drew, so that you stay together and you stay happy," Caroline explained.

May thought about it.

Was Ash really sacrificing their friendship so that May could be in a happy relationship? Was May really happy enough with Drew to sacrifice her friendship with Ash? Even if she was, did she want to lose Ash as her friend?

May knew the answers to the latter two questions, a firm no; she hoped that the answer to the first one was also a no.

One thing was still bugging her though

"But… then why is Ash ignoring my calls and messages?" May asked, once again furrowing her brow in confusion, Caroline shared this look of confusion.

"Well, it looks like he's home," Caroline said, glancing out of the lounge window to see a car pull up outside Ash's house, "You could go talk to him now?" Caroline suggested, May thought about it momentarily, before standing up and walking over to the window.

May watched Ash step out of the car, and shut the door, before the car drove away. Ash ran his hands through his hair, in the relative darkness of twilight, May couldn't see his facial expression, or how bloodshot his eyes looked.

May was confused to why Ash wasn't going into his house, he was just standing on the curb, staring it his front door. May was surprised when Ash's head dropped, and he turned on heel, and started to walk away from his house, heading towards the hills in the distance.

"Mum… He hasn't gone home, he's heading to the hills," May explained distantly, still staring at Ash.

"Well, I would say go after him, but your father should be home from his urgent meeting soon," Caroline said, sounding torn, the mother was not sure whether to let May go out after Ash at this time of night.

"Mum, I've never seen him do that before… I'm worried," May said, turning to look at Caroline, who could tell from May's expression that she was genuinely distressed by Ash's actions.

"Okay, honey, but be careful, please?" Caroline replied, emphasising the please, May nodded, before swiftly leaving the house.

Caroline sighed, wondering whether she'd made the right decision.

She didn't have much time to ponder on it, because a couple of minutes later the front door opened and Caroline stood up to go welcome her husband home.

Caroline walked out into the hall and almost gasped at the state of Norman. He looked pale, as if he'd just seen a ghost, his eyes were sullen and he had bags under his eyes.

"Norman! What's happened?" Caroline asked, rushing over to him, and putting her hands on his cheeks, inspecting his face.

"Caroline… Where's May and Max?" Norman asked quietly, avoiding eye contact with his wife, Caroline frowned slightly.

"Max is staying out at his friends, and May has gone after Ash, who just walked off to the hills." Norman's eyes widened in surprise, which Caroline noticed, "Honey, what's happened?" she asked, more urgently than before.

"It's Giovanni… He had a heart attack today… He passed away just after Ash arrived at the hospital," Norman explained weakly, rubbing his face with both of his hands.

Caroline's jaw dropped, and a hand shot up to her mouth.

"Ohh my… Poor Delia… Poor Ash! The two of them were inseparable!" Caroline said quietly, before embracing her husband, trying to restrain the tears that were threatening to burst out.

"They called in all of the Gym Leaders from the Kanto Region… They're considering cancelling or postponing the Regional Tournament this year… I just can't believe he's gone," Norman replied quietly, returning Caroline's hug.

"I just hope that May doesn't do anything to hurt Ash even more… She doesn't know about it," Caroline replied, the whole conversation spoken in a tone barely stretching above a whisper.

**-IYCSMN-**

May walked in the direction she assumed Ash had also taken, scaling a rather steep incline.

As she walked, May tried to think about how she was going to approach this conversation; what she should say and how she should say it.

Would Ash take it the wrong way and flip out? Would Ash understand and try to make more time for May? Or would he just flat out end the friendship?

What Ash was actually going to tell May, was literally the last thing she would have expected, narrowly beating the position she found him in when she arrived at the top of the hill.

Ash was lying down, facing away from May, slightly curled up, not quite a foetal position, but pretty damn close. May's hand shot up to her mouth, extremely similarly to how Caroline's had, all fears May had about her and Ash's friendship evaporated, she just wanted to know why he was like this.

"Ash?" May said gently, trying not to startle the clearly distressed teen.

Ash didn't respond.

"Ash? Are you okay?" May asked, slightly louder.

Ash didn't respond.

"Ash! Why are you ignoring me?" May asked, _even _louder, making sure Ash definitely heard her.

Ash didn't respond.

"Look, I don't know what I've done wrong, but you can't ignore me like this!" May said angrily, putting aside any thought that Ash might be distressed for another reason.

Ash responded.

May had never seen Ash angry, until today. Ash's head whipped round, and he leapt to his feet quicker than an Arcanine using ExtremeSpeed.

"I'm sorry?" Ash growled, glaring at May in a way that she had never seen before, and May _felt _something she had never felt before, around Ash.

She was scared of him.

"What's wrong with you Ash?" May asked, tears threatening to leak down her cheeks.

"You genuinely think this is about you?" Ash asked, still holding the threatening tone of voice, not breaking eye contact with May.

May's lip quivered.

"Ash… talk to me! I'm here for you!" May said, trying her best not to start crying on the spot, but even seeing that didn't make Ash let up.

"_You're here for me_?!" Ash repeated incredulously, "I'm sorry, but the past _SIX FUCKING MONTHS _you've been hanging off any part of Drew you can get your hands on!"

It wasn't that Ash was shouting, but his tone of voice would petrify even a Legendary.

With that statement, it hit May. Ash didn't have the problem, and Ash wasn't the problem.

It was her.

"Let me ask you something May," Ash said, somehow sarcastically, as he turned his back on her, "Have you even noticed that I stopped wearing my hat?"

May's jaw dropped.

"Thought so."

"Ash, why are you being like this?" May asked, as a single tear crept its way out of its prison.

Ash turned and his gaze pierced through May's like a knife.

"My dad died, right in front of my eyes, I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye," Ash said, his voice as emotionless as his gaze.

May's hand shot to her mouth once more.

"Ash… I'm so sorry," May said, placing a hand on Ash's shoulder, tears flowing freely down her face.

"Heh… Not like I've lost anyone else I love recently," Ash replied coldly, shrugging off May's hand, and shooting her a lethal glare, before he started heading back down the hill.

May was locked in her position, stunned by how evil and cold Ash had sounded.

"Oh, try not to confuse one of these bushes for your _boyfriend _on the way down, I'm not sure they'd appreciate you clinging to them like cello tape," Ash said viciously, throwing another deadly look at May, before he walked off, not once looking back.

May couldn't believe what had happened, her childhood best friend had just told her that his father had died, and effectively ended their friendship.

May wanted to curl up and cry, May wanted to rush after Ash and hug him and apologise.

Most importantly though.

May wanted to bring back Giovanni.

For Ash.

**-IYCSMN-**

Ash had taken the next few days off school, feeling absolutely terrible, he had almost incapacitated himself with sadness, unable to leave his haven of a bedroom, only allowing Pikachu to enter. He was pretty sure that his mother and May had tried to come in to talk to him, but he had instructed Pikachu to – against the electric mouse's will – electrocute the doorknob, effectively ending any possibility of anyone entering Ash's room.

He had refused to eat.

It was the only way to feel anything other than crushing depression.

But Ash had to go back to school eventually, and of course, the news of the town's Gym Leader suffering a heart attack and dying was big news, so everyone knew.

Worse than actually having to go back to school in his current state, was the fact that everyone shot him "knowing" looks, as if they understood.

Word had also spread about his huge argument with May. Somehow, people had found out about it. Ash could only assume that she had gone crying to Drew about it, and he had spread the story himself.

Ash tried to isolate himself as much as possible, somehow managing to sit by himself in all of his lessons, and managing to find nice secluded sections of the school to eat his lunch.

Ash hadn't spoken since Giovanni's death, his throat felt as if there were rusty metal slabs sticking out, which threatened to flare up every time he attempted to speak. He was only able to communicate with his Pokémon, due to his unwavering telepathic connection to all of them. Currently, Pikachu, and all his other Pokémon, were staying at Professor Oak's lab, so that _they _could get over Giovanni's death. Especially Pikachu, who had been Giovanni's when he was a Pichu, and officially been Ash's on his tenth birthday.

Pikachu was taking it almost as badly as Ash.

The only bonus to Ash was that he hadn't had a physical one-on-one run in with May, since he had exploded at her on the hilltop.

Ash had just finished his final lesson of the day, somehow managing to evade any questions or any conversation, he just wanted to get home, go to his room, and curl up in a ball.

His favourite pastime of late.

But unfortunately for Ash, he knew he wouldn't be able to make it home without going to the toilet first, so Ash exited the classroom, making sure everyone else (excluding the teacher), had left first.

The corridors were empty, no one at all, so Ash took his time in wandering to the nearest toilet which was just down the hall from his classroom, but Ash was trapped in his own mind.

So much so, that he was unaware of May watching him from further down the corridor, and in the other direction, walking towards him, Drew and his "cohorts," Paul and Harley, both of whom had purple hair, the former, had shorter hair and wore dark trousers with a purple blazer, Harley, had long hair and _always _wore a Cacturne outfit.

Half the school didn't know whether _it _was male or female.

Ash was so imprisoned in his mind that he didn't notice Drew walking directly towards him, but the latter didn't exactly try to move out the way. Drew barged into Ash's shoulder, knocking the raven-haired teen slightly backwards.

"What's the matter Ketchum? Something on your mind?" Drew asked sarcastically, smirking at Ash, who didn't even make eye contact with the green-haired Coordinator.

"Lighten up, Ketchum, anyone would've thought that your pathetic excuse for a father had died," Drew taunted, smirking even more at Ash, who was trying his hardest not to react. Paul and Harley laughed along at Drew's taunts.

"It amazes me how he became a Gym Leader, I hope for your sake he was a better father than a Gym Leader, but I'd be fucking surprised, he was a useless cunt, better off dead in my opinion," Drew sneered, his smirk as wide as it could possibly be.

Ash snapped. His eyes flashed blue momentarily, before he lunged forward, grabbing Drew by the scruff of his neck and physically lifting him off the floor, and slamming him into the wall. Ash glared straight at Drew, whose smirk had swiftly changed to a look of pure fear.

"My father," Ash growled, "Is one million times the man that you'll ever hope to fucking be!" Ash shouted, slamming Drew against the wall once more.

Paul and Harley stood frozen, unable to move due to their surprise, and fear. What none of them realised was that May was still watching them from down the corridor, and she'd heard the entire thing, but too, was frozen in place.

Ash gritted his teeth angrily, before he flung Drew onto the floor, before walking over to him and placing a foot on Drew's chest.

"You really think it's funny to mock someone's death?" Ash asked viciously, glaring at Drew with a look that would freeze even Arceus in his place.

Drew didn't respond, through pure fear.

"HUH?!" Ash growled, when he didn't get a response, pressing his foot down on Drew's chest, causing the Coordinator severe pain. Somehow, Drew's lack of response made Ash even angrier.

Ash removed his foot from Drew's chest, before kneeling down next to Drew's face.

Ash spat on Drew's cheek.

"What was that for?!" Drew exclaimed, disgusted by Ash's action.

Ash smirked, making the hairs on Drew's neck and arms stand on end.

"My target."

Ash stood up sharply, and in one movement, proceeded to break Drew's jaw with a powerful kick, right on the spot he had spat.

A loud crack echoed throughout the corridor, one that made Drew squeal in pain, and made Harley and Paul shiver in disgust at the sound.

Ash just glared once more at Drew, who was clutching his face in pain, tears starting to drip from his eyes.

"Don't disrespect those who are more important than you," Ash said, the vicious edge to his voice still there, before he turned on his heel, and walked off, a dangerous aura seeming to emanate from his body.

May watched the entire scene with a hand to her mouth.

The way Ash had mercilessly broken Drew's jaw, demonstrated to May how badly Ash was being affected by Giovanni's passing.

May had no sympathy for Drew, lying on the floor in agony, nor did she care for him anymore, he had unwittingly opened May's eyes to what his true personality was.

May stepped from her standing point, into the corridor, and walked along towards Drew, Paul and Harley, following the direction Ash departed in, but she needed to make a stop on the way.

When she reached Drew, he looked up at her, and she momentarily saw a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Did you see that May? Your nutty neighbour just assaulted me!" Drew exclaimed, through extreme pain. He forced himself up so he was standing next to May, "I'm going to have to press charges!"

SNAP

Drew cried out in pain as May slapped him full across the face, right where Ash had broken his jaw.

"We're over, you arsehole!" May screamed at him, before storming off in search of Ash, leaving Drew dumbfounded and in excruciating pain.

May quickly tried to catch up with Ash, or try to find out which way he went.

She was nearing the Assembly Hall, when she heard music start playing from the aforementioned hall. May followed the noise, up a sloped corridor, up to the double doors that entered into the hall.

Ash was stood on stage, all by himself, in a completely empty hall.

The hall itself must've been about thirty feet in length, excluding the large stage at the far end, but the length of the hall was generally smaller, as large bleachers – that could be pulled out and tucked in – extended out into the hall itself.

May hid herself next to the bleachers, out of view from Ash, who was listening to the music playing over the speakers, waiting for his cue.

**(I would seriously recommend listening to the title song: If You Could See Me Now – The Script)**

_It was February 14 Valentine's Day  
The roses came but they took you away  
Tattooed on my arm is a charm to disarm all the harm  
Gotta keep myself calm but the truth is you're gone_

May watched intently, tears building in her eyes as she realised Ash had written this song about his father, she heard the intensity and emotion behind every word Ash sung.

_And I'll never get to show you these songs  
Dad you should see the tours that I'm on  
I see you standing there next to Mom  
Both singing along, yeah arm in arm_

May pictured Delia and Giovanni at Ash's bands first gig, with their arms around each other, singing along with Ash, with extremely proud expressions on their faces.

_And there are days when I'm losing my faith_

_Because the man wasn't good he was great_

Ash put his left hand – his right hand holding the microphone – to his heart.

_He'd say "Music was the home for your pain"_

_And explained I was young, he would say_

_Take that rage, put it on a page_

_Take the page to the stage_

_Blow the roof off the place_

_I'm trying to make you proud_

_Do everything you did_

_I hope you're up there with God saying "That's my kid!"_

Ash looked up to the ceiling and pointed as he sung the last line, kissing his finger before he pointed up. By this point, tears were streaming down May's face, as she pictured every scene that Ash was depicting in his lyrics.

_I still look for your face in the crowd_

Ash pointed out into the empty hall, as if there were a crowd there and he was picking out his dad.

_Oh if you could see me now (Oh if you could see me now)_

_Would you stand in disgrace or take a bow_

Ash mimicked the actions indicated in the lyrics, the lyrics made May choke up even more.

_Oh if you could see me now (Oh if you could see me now)_

_(Oh if you could see me now)_

_If you could see me now would you recognize me?_

_Would you pat me on the back or would you criticize me?_

_Would you follow every line on my tear-stained face_

_Put your hand on a heart that was cold_

Ash reached forward with his left hand, and grabbed an invisible hand, before placing his hand over his heart once more.

_As the day you were taken away?_

_I know it's been a while but I can see you clear as day_

Ash pointed towards his eyes, then gestured in front of him, as if he were seeing Giovanni in front of him at that very moment.

_Right now, I wish I could hear you say_

_I drink too much, and I smoke too much dutch_

_But if you can't see me now that shit's a must_

_You used to say I won't know a wind until it crossed me_

_Like I won't know real love 'til I've loved and I've lost it_

_So if you've lost a sister, someone's lost a mom_

_And if you've lost a dad then someone's lost a son_

_And they're all missing out; yeah they're all missing out_

_So if you get a second to look down on me now_

Ash once again looked to the sky.

_Mom, Dad I'm just missing you now_

_I still look for your face in the crowd_

_Oh if you could see me now (Oh if you could see me now)_

_Would you stand in disgrace or take a bow_

_Oh if you could see me now (Oh if you could see me now)_

_Oh, oh_

_Would you call me a saint or a sinner?_

_Would you love me a loser or winner?_

_Oh, oh_

_When I see my face in the mirror_

_We look so alike that it makes me shiver_

Ash projected the lyrics so powerfully that it made May shiver, he held the final note of that line of lyrics for so long that May thought he was going to run out of breath, but somehow, Ash managed to sing the rest of the song with even more power and emotion than before. His fringe had been split by the sweat that drenched his forehead, he had apparently ditched the t-shirt he was wearing previously, and was now only in his skinny jeans and a white sleeveless vest.

_I still look for your face in the crowd_

_Oh if you could see me now (Oh if you could see me now)_

_Would you stand in disgrace or take a bow_

_Oh if you could see me now (Oh if you could see me now)_

_Yeah I'm just missing you now_

_I still look for your face in the crowd_

_Oh if you could see me now (Oh if you could see me now)_

_Would you stand in disgrace or take a bow_

_Oh if you could see me now (Oh if you could see me now)_

_If you could see, you could see me now  
If you could see, you could see me now_

By the time Ash had finished, both he and May were in tears, Ash dropped the microphone, and then fell onto his back, sobbing uncontrollably.

May watched with tears streaming down her face, contemplating whether or not to approach Ash, but the way Ash had sung, and the way he had broken down, sent shivers down May's spine.

This was her _best friend_, and she felt like she could do nothing to help.

She stepped out into the middle of the hall, but Ash was still crying heavily, so didn't hear her. May stopped in the centre of the hall, directly in line with Ash, although, he was on the stage, so she wasn't on the same height level.

"Ash…" She said quietly, but her voice carried across the hall, straight to Ash's ears, and he shot upright, looking directly at May, and for the first time, she could clearly see how devastated and distraught Ash looked.

His usual vibrant and warm eyes looked cold and lifeless; his usual tanned handsome face looked pale and heavily tearstained. May expected to receive the same cold look she had the night she confronted Ash on the hilltop, but she didn't.

Ash's eyes looked pleadingly into May's.

Ash only spoke two words, two broken, painful words, before he jumped off the stage and embraced May tightly, as if they'd never had their fight.

"Why him?"

**-IYCSMN-**

Ash fixed the tie on his suit.

This was the day he had been dreading for the last few weeks.

Giovanni's funeral.

Ash ran his hands through his hair, and glanced into the mirror, and physically jumped backwards.

He thought his father was staring back at him.

Ash blinked a couple of times, trying to prevent tears from spilling out, something he had to do a lot since his father's death, but looking into the mirror and seeing how much he genuinely looked like Giovanni, shook Ash up.

There was a knock on Ash's door, before it opened, revealing May.

Things hadn't really improved between the two, mainly because of how upset Ash was feeling, he still didn't feel like hanging out with May, even though his spirits had been raised slightly, knowing May had broken up with Drew.

May hadn't explained why, but Ash was still glad it had happened.

Although, Ash did now feel less awkward when he found May physically attractive, but today, he felt particularly awkward when he realised how beautiful May looked.

She was wearing a simple black dress, with her hair done up into a ponytail, but for some inexplicable reason, Ash thought she looked stunning.

But it felt wrong.

Today was about mourning the death and celebrating the life of his father, yet his stupid teen hormones were taking over.

To make matters worse, Ash had been asked by his mum to do a speech _and _as if that wasn't bad enough, Delia had also wanted Ash to be a Pall-bearer, alongside Norman, Brock, Bruno, Lance and Lt. Surge. The latter three had been chosen due to how closely they had worked with Giovanni over the years, as Gym Leaders or as members of the Elite Four.

It wasn't that Ash didn't want to do it; it was that he felt he _couldn't_.

"You ready to go, Ash?" May asked softly, trying to help her friend through the day.

Ash felt himself tearing up again, he looked up and caught May's gaze.

"No," Ash replied, his voice cracking slightly, May instantly walked over and embraced Ash tightly.

"Ohh Ash…" She said quietly, rubbing Ash's back as they hugged.

"He's gone… he's really gone," Ash said, tears flowing freely down his face, hugging May a little tighter as he spoke.

**-IYCSMN-**

In one swift movement, the coffin was raised onto the shoulders of the six suited men.

In one swift movement, the six men started walking to the sound of music.

In one swift movement, the coffin was lowered onto the plinth, on which it would rest for the remainder of the funeral.

Ash took his seat on one of the wooden church benches, in between his mum and May, Pikachu moved himself from May's lap onto Ash's, as the priest spoke.

Ash didn't listen to a word that was said, he had zoned out, emotionally and physically, he was only aware that it was his time to speak, when May gently shook his arm.

He glanced at her, and she shot him an encouraging smile, which gave him the strength to stand up and walk to the pulpit on the right hand side, known as the lectern.

Ash briefly scanned his eyes over the gathering of people, recognising his friends and family, and most of Giovanni's friends, who had also come to pay their respects.

Ash cleared his tight throat.

"Hello everyone," he greeted, "You all know me as Giovanni's son, and I was asked by my mum, to write a speech for today," Ash briefly explained.

"Unfortunately… I don't have a speech, as it was too painful to write one," Ash said, looking down at the wooden rest in front of him, where his speech should have been resting.

Ash looked back up, and caught May's gaze, and she gave him another encouraging smile.

"So I'm going to speak straight from my heart," Ash said, trying his best not to lose control of his emotions.

"My dad has always been there, for every major part of my life."

"He was there when I first learned to talk, first learned to walk, every major step of my life, my father was there, watching over me, as my mentor and well… my father." Ash could see his mum tearing up as he spoke, and tried to divert his gaze, to make sure he didn't start crying.

"He… He was such an important part of my life… he taught me how to play the guitar, he would sit with me and help me with my homework, he was the whole reason I decide to take Advanced Battle class at school… I wanted, and still want, to be as good as my dad, he was the one who taught me how to battle, how to train and nurture my Pokémon, to make them as strong as possible."

"He taught me how to treat everyone and anyone with the respect and kindness they deserve."

"He taught me the necessities of life."

Ash managed to keep himself in check as he spoke, every now and again throw glances at his mum and May, looking for support.

"Yet, after all this, after everything he's done for me… He'll never see me do the same," Ash said, looking up into the sky.

"He'll never see me turn eighteen and become an adult, he won't be there to see me have my first pint, he'll never see me get engaged, get married," Ash said, as he turned his gaze to Giovanni's coffin.

"Worst of all… He'll never get to meet his grandchildren; he'll never be able to give them the same love and attention he gave me."

Ash could feel himself cracking up, could feel his eyes watering as he thought about all he had been through with his dad.

"He'll never get to see me become the level of a man he was…"

Ash hung his head, trying to prevent the crowd from seeing the tears that were flowing freely down his face.

"He was the greatest man I've ever known, and ever will know."

Ash looked up at the congregation in front of him.

"I just hope I can become half of that."

Ash turned to look at the coffin containing his late father, finally having the chance to say what he didn't have the chance to that horrific Valentine's Day.

"Goodbye, dad… I love you…"

**EOC**

**So, there we have it, Giovanni's funeral, and Ash finally gets his chance to say goodbye.**

**Just in case anyone missed it, the start of the chapter takes place the same day that Giovanni died, so when Ash comes back in the car, he's returning from the hospital.**

**I was hoping to add an extra scene in this chapter somewhere, but it didn't seem to fit the framing of this chapter, so it will be in the next chapter.**

**REVIEWS:**

**Amalgam24: … DUDE, ARE YOU PSYCHIC? Seriously, the scene with Ash and Drew was one of my starting scenes when I started to write this story!**

**Aamaylover: Thank you, I hope you enjoyed this chapter too!**

**Rana: Thanks! The idea was to (not so) briefly cover the main parts of Ash's life and how Giovanni was always there for him.**

**RanaTheBanana: Wow! Thank you for such high praise! I've never really considered myself to be a talented writer, so thank you very much for thinking/saying that! I'm seriously happy that you consider this one of your favourite Advanceshipping stories too, that means a lot to me!**

**Ultratron562: I never noticed that until you mentioned it! I'm glad I've got that sort of relationship across, thank you for your review!**

**LittleMissMidnight: Oh thank Arceus I'm not the only one! Thank you, I really wanted to get across the feeling that Ash was trapped inside his own head, and those were the only things that were running through his mind. Indeed! Hopefully it was shown partially in this chapter, but there is more to come, much darker stuff though.**

**Thank you everyone for reading!**

**~AF~**


	5. Slipping

**WARNING: This chapter contains scenes that may upset people, if you do have any problems with these scenes; please feel free to contact me through PM's.**

May was unbelievably worried.

She hadn't seen, or heard, from Ash since Giovanni's funeral.

That was nearing a month ago.

May was aware that Ash's phone had broken, the morning of Giovanni's death, just before Ash had entered the exam hall, so she had gone out and bought him a new one, as an eighteenth birthday present.

Ash's eighteenth, a day May had been looking forward to, until Giovanni's death, when Ash started retreating into his shell. His eighteenth was only a couple of days away, and May wanted to help cheer him up, so she had been arranging a surprise party with Delia.

Delia was happy for the distraction as well, Giovanni's death had been a massive shock to the poor woman, and she was grateful for May's company.

Ash had reverted to his pre-funeral routine, shutting himself in his bedroom, and ordering Pikachu to electrocute the doorknob, preventing any hope of entry.

May knew that Ash didn't even have Pikachu with him, as the yellow mouse was either with Delia – when May went over to plan Ash's birthday party – or over at Professor Oak's lab with Ash's other Pokémon.

Ash had stopped attending school, he had even missed an end of month assessment – both practical and written parts – and May was getting more and more concerned about her best friends wellbeing every day that passed.

She was currently on her way to Ash and Delia's – from school – to continue helping Delia plan Ash's eighteenth birthday party.

May really wanted to make the day special for Ash, to try and cheer him up somewhat, she could understand why he was feeling so down, he and Giovanni had had the closest father-son relationship May had ever seen, but that didn't stop her wanting to get Ash out of his rut.

May also needed some advice from Ash, she knew it was unfair to put any extra strain on him, but she was getting desperate.

Drew _hadn't _stopped bothering her, constantly ringing and texting her, following her around, pestering her, and every time he did, May told him to leave her alone.

But he refused to.

May could still picture Ash breaking his jaw, and the sound that echoed through the corridor, and as wrong as it may be, May couldn't help but grin when she pictured it.

Drew was an asshole. May couldn't even remember what she had seen in him, maybe it was that he _appeared _sweet and loving, constantly giving her flowers and compliments, but she was starting to think it was all an act.

May couldn't stand the sight of him anymore; she just wanted to get him out of her life permanently, she could go to her mother or even Delia for advice, but for some reason she was drawn to Ash for this advice.

She couldn't figure out why.

May was walking from school, Eevee perched on her left shoulder, Pikachu on her right – May had started taking Pikachu with her to school, so that the mouse wasn't alone all day, what with Delia back at work, and Ash secluding himself from society, May felt sorry for Pikachu being by himself all day.

May had noticed that Eevee was constantly trying to cheer Pikachu up, whenever Pikachu appeared upset or down, May noticed Eevee would talk to him, and Pikachu would perk up, she found it adorable how the two interacted with each other.

May wished that Ash would let her be _his_ Eevee.

May wanted to be there for Ash, to help him through it and try to make him feel better, but he was hiding himself away, not giving anyone the _chance _to help him.

As May neared Ash's house, she could hear loud noises coming from inside, she listened more intently and figured out that it was an electric guitar, being played _very _loudly.

May ran up to the front door, and used the spare key which was hidden under the doormat to get inside, where the music was even louder than out in the street, May assumed that Delia was still at work, otherwise she never would allow music that loud. Even just entering the house, May could tell that the guitar was being played _extremely _aggressively, and she knew exactly where it was being played.

Ash's room.

She crept up the stairs, not like she could be heard over the guitar anyway, but she wanted to make sure. Pikachu and Eevee were silent on her shoulders, making sure not to make any noise either.

May reached the top of the stairs, and for the first time in two weeks she saw Ash's door open, only by inches, but even with just that small gap, May could tell it was pitch black inside the room.

The guitar stopped briefly, before it started up again, slightly less loud this time, and May was aware of Ash singing.

**(Yes, **_**another **_**song, World So Cold – Three Days Grace, if you wanna listen along)**

_I never thought I'd feel this  
Guilty and I'm broken down inside  
Livin' with myself nothing but lies_

May slid the door open slightly, so she could look into the room.

_I always thought I'd make it  
But never knew I'd let it get so bad  
Livin' with myself is all I have_

_I feel numb  
I can't come to life  
I feel like I'm frozen in time_

Ash had his back to May, with headphones on his head, and his guitar strapped over the shoulder, he appeared to be recording the song onto his computer, which was in front of him, on the far side of the room to May. May could only see the outline of Ash, due to the only light source being the computer itself, but she could see a microphone clipped onto the top of the computer, extending out towards Ash, which confirmed her suspicions that he was recording this song.

_Livin' in a world so cold, wasting away  
Livin' in a shell with no soul since you've gone away  
Livin' in a world so cold, counting the days  
Since you've gone away, you've gone away_

May felt a panging sensation in her chest, caused by the lyrics, the passion, and the ferocity that Ash was singing the lyrics with, it was the second time she had felt like this, knowing that Ash was singing about his father.

_Do you ever feel me?  
Do you ever look deep down inside  
Starin' at yourself, paralyzed?_

_I feel numb  
I can't come to life  
I feel like I'm frozen in time_

_Livin' in a world so cold, wasting away  
Livin' in a shell with no soul since you've gone away  
Livin' in a world so cold, counting the days  
Since you've gone away, you've gone away from me_

A thought struck May whilst she was listening in to Ash, maybe, he felt that the only way he could convey his emotions were through singing? Once again, his singing had brought her to tears, Ash was singing them so powerfully, she could only assume he was getting a sore throat.

_I'm too young to lose my soul  
I'm too young to feel this old  
So long, I'm left behind  
I feel like I'm losing my mind_

_Do you ever feel me?  
Do you ever look deep down inside  
Starin' at your life, paralyzed?_

_Livin' in a world so cold, wasting away  
Livin' in a shell with no soul since you've gone away  
Livin' in a world so cold, counting the days  
Since you've gone away, you've gone away from me_

_I'm too young  
I'm too young_

Ash's head dropped as soon as he finished singing, and May heard a click, which she assumed was Ash finishing the recording, and she made a bold decision.

To let Ash know she was there.

May pushed the door open further, allowing light to creep into the room, alerting Ash to the presence of another human.

"Ash…" May said softly, taking a careful step into his room, Pikachu leapt off her shoulder and onto the bed, where he wanted to sit and watch the scene, Eevee swiftly followed, and placed herself down _ever so _close to the electric mouse.

Ash jumped slightly when May spoke.

"Heh… May… Didn't see you there…" Ash said, his voice sounding broken and hoarse, he lifted his head and looked at the ceiling; "Don't particularly want you seeing me like this…" he added quietly, with a short snort like chuckle.

"Ash… You need to stop this…" May said gently, taking another step towards Ash, who still had his back to May.

"Stop what, May? I… I'm…" Ash's voice broke, he couldn't even form the words in his throat, May put a hand up to her heart.

"Ash, you need to let us help you get through this," May said, saying everything as softly and gently as she could, taking another step towards Ash, who still hadn't turned his back, May couldn't see his face, due to the darkness in the room.

May took another step towards Ash; she was so close she could feel the heat pouring from his back, and she was so close she could smell him.

May frowned.

Ash smelt strongly of alcohol.

"Ash, have you been drinking?" May asked, quietly but firmly, feeling tears building in her eyes again.

"Why shouldn't I? At least it makes me feel something more than crippling sadness," Ash said quietly, taking a swig from a bottle that had been hidden in the shadows on his desk, May put a hand to her mouth as Ash guzzled down the last of the bottle, not even flinching as the alcohol scorched his already sore throat.

May caught a glimpse of what he was drinking.

Vodka.

Straight from the bottle, straight down his throat, straight into his stomach.

May let the tears flow down her cheeks as Ash staggered on his feet slightly.

"How much have you drunk today?" May choked out, Ash didn't notice the tone she spoke in, he was too dazed from the alcohol, combined with lack of sleep and food; he was almost drunk.

"Umm… three…" Ash said, hiccupping, holding up four fingers, before frowning, giggling, and then bring down one of his fingers.

"Ash… I'm fixing you; I don't care if it kills me!" May sobbed, letting the tears run freely down her face.

This made Ash turn to face her.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked, raising an eyebrow, May looked up at him, but still couldn't see his face, due to the lighting issues.

"Starting right now," May said determinedly, walking towards the curtains and pulling them wide open, before turning around and facing Ash once more.

May's eyes shot wide open and she couldn't hold in a gasp.

Ash was in a right state; his hair had grown alarmingly, and was hanging over his sullen, dark eyes, which held none of the bright life that May was accustomed to. Ash obviously hadn't shaved either; strong dark stubble had covered all of his face, making him look like a homeless middle-aged man.

He was remarkably skinny; too, May was almost certain that if Ash lifted his shirt, she'd be able to see his ribs poking through his skin.

Ash looked lifeless, broken and weak.

May needed to help him; she couldn't leave her best friend in this state.

May stepped forward, and without hesitation, threw her arms around Ash's neck, burying her face into his chest.

"Ash, we're going to help you get through this, no matter what!" May promised, clinging tightly onto her best friend, who was stunned.

Ash felt a guilty feeling rising in his stomach.

Well, it was either that, or the Vodka.

Ash suppressed the guilty feeling, why didn't he have a right to mourn his father in the way he chose?

But was it fair to put his loved ones through this?

Was it fair his father was taken away from him so soon and unexpectedly?

But was it fair that he was driving himself to death and putting extra stress on his mother who was already struggling?

Ash was torn inside.

So torn that he had driven himself to tears in May's arms; clinging onto her tightly as the tears flowed freely down his unshaven, tired face.

Ash allowed two words, broken and cracked, to escape his lips.

"Help me."

**-IYCSMN-**

May had managed to get Ash to shave, get his hair cut, and eat, fitting all this in before his birthday, before promising to treat Ash to a fantastic birthday.

She definitely delivered on that.

The duo went out by themselves, with May deciding to treat Ash to all his favourite things, to help lift his spirits as much as she could.

May did this for two reasons, one, to get Ash out of the house so that Delia could get all the guests in and two, to make sure that Ash's mood improved.

Obviously, May wasn't expecting Ash to get over Giovanni's death in one night, but she prayed that she could see at least a glimmer of an improvement in Ash's mood.

May looked at herself in the mirror, finally satisfied with her appearance.

(A/N: Bear with me here, not at all good at describing appearances!)

She was wearing a pink dress top which came down to her thighs, with sleeves that came down to half way between her shoulder and her elbow. The design of the top was like a normal t-shirt, until it reached May's hips, then it started to turn into a more purple-like colour, with flower like patterns on it. May was wearing black skinny jeans underneath, with some white canvas shoes.

May's brunette hair was cascading freely down her shoulders, but she still had to add something to her hair anyway; she had put on some silver eye shadow, and applied some mascara to her eyelashes, making her usually vibrant sapphire eyes, even more stunning. May had also put on some lip gloss, making her lips sparkle too.

After all, it was Ash's eighteenth birthday; she had to pull out all the stops.

May applied the finishing touches to her outfit, slipping on the sapphire necklace that Ash had bought her, and then put on the green bandana that Ash had also bought her; both objects were given to her as her tenth birthday present.

May looked herself over in the mirror and felt satisfied about her look, she smiled to herself.

She couldn't lie; she had been looking forward to this outing for ages.

It was a chance for her and Ash to spend some quality time together.

May just prayed that she would be able to improve Ash's mood, as he was slipping dangerously close to a mental cliff, and May couldn't bear to see what would happen if he fell over that cliff.

May shivered as the image of the unshaven, broken, drunk Ash came flooding back.

The sullen look in his eyes, the paleness of his skin, the frailty of his entire figure, made May feel sick.

May hoped that Ash had gotten past the hardest part, and could now start rebuilding himself mentally.

Obviously, May understood how badly Ash felt, Giovanni was the closest person to Ash, in the entire world; Giovanni was there for all of Ash's major life events, but he was going to miss arguably the most important parts.

Ash had explained it perfectly in his improvised speech at Giovanni's funeral.

May shook the thought away, today was about Ash, and making him feel better and getting him to enjoy a momentous occasion.

After all, it's not every day you turn 18, is it?

May smiled as the memory of Ash's tenth birthday came flooding back; she had said almost exactly the same thing that very day.

May glanced at the clock on her wall, the time read 3.45pm, meaning she was meant to be meeting Ash in fifteen minutes, so they could spend the afternoon/early evening out and about together, then get home for Ash's surprise party around 7pm.

May grabbed her purse off her bed, giving Eevee a quick pat on the head, and rushed down the stairs, a giddy feeling building in her stomach.

Her mind was telling her that this was just going out for some fun with her best friend, but her heart was screaming something else.

Date.

May couldn't shake the feeling, she was as nervous as she would have been had this been a date, yet it had been suggested as just hanging out.

May jumped the last couple of steps and walked to the entrance to the lounge.

Peeking her head round the corner, she saw Caroline and Norman sat on the sofa watching the television.

"I'm going out with Ash, make sure you go round and help set up like you promised!" May said cheekily, grinning at her parents, who turned to look at her at the sound of her voice.

"We will May, I think it's lovely how much you've been helping Delia, Arceus knows she's needed the company," Caroline praised, giving May a warm feeling inside, the latter smiled at her mother.

"I'll see you all at the party!" May said happily, as she turned and walked out the door.

She didn't even have a chance to close the door before she realised how cool it was outside, and so she darted back inside and grabbed a black cardigan that was hooked onto the banister, and then headed over to Ash's house.

May noticed Ash waiting patiently outside his house, seemingly not knowing what to do with himself, as he was pacing up and down the path to his house.

Ash was wearing black skinny jeans and white long-sleeved polo shirt, the sleeves clung tightly to his arms, and even though he had lost a lot of weight since Giovanni's death, his muscles were still evident through the shirt, which flustered May slightly.

She felt like she was the five year old again, meeting Ash for the first time and being dazzled by his every move.

In that moment, May realised why she was nervous, why it felt like a date to her.

In that moment, May realised what it felt like to be _truly _in love.

May had never loved Drew; she had mistaken infatuation with love. She loved the idea of being in love.

May walked towards Ash, her eyes not moving from the birthday boy, a small smile creeping onto her face.

She was in love with her best friend. What on Earth could be better than that?

"Hey there, birthday boy," She said playfully, snapping Ash out of his pacing routine, he looked up at her and smiled.

"Hey there, Miss Maple," he replied, a little smirk playing on his lips.

May had missed that smile so much.

So _so_ much.

May lunged forward and clasped Ash into a tight hug, which surprised the raven-haired trainer momentarily, before he returned the embrace.

"Happy birthday, Ashy," May said slyly into Ash's ear. He shivered slightly as May's breath tingled his ear, fortunately, May didn't notice.

"Thank you, Amy," Ash replied, cheekily; sticking his tongue out at May as they pulled apart.

"I told you not to call me that!" May feigned anger; playfully hitting Ash on the shoulder.

The duo shared their first laugh for over half a year, warmth spreading through both the teens' bodies as they enjoyed each other's company.

Ash offered his arm to May.

"Shall we go, Miss Maple?" He asked, a big grin stretching across his face.

May smiled equally as broadly.

"Such a gentlemen," She replied playfully, linking arms with Ash.

The two headed off towards the town centre, where they were going to see a movie, and then go for dinner, which would take the time up to around 7.45pm, May estimated, which gave Delia and May's parents fifteen minutes extra to sort everything out and get all the guests in.

Ash rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"May… I know this is about having fun and all… But do you mind if we quickly stop by my dad's grave?" Ash asked quietly, still rubbing the back of his neck, May smiled softly at Ash.

"Of course, today is all about you," May said encouragingly, rubbing Ash's arm that was linked with hers – with her opposite arm.

Ash smiled appreciatively at May.

"Thank you, May."

**-IYCSMN-**

Ash and May stood side-by-side, overlooking Giovanni's grave.

"I got so many weird looks coming here the last couple of months," Ash said quietly, shooting a glance at May.

"Why?" May asked, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion, Ash smiled sadly.

"The state I was in, the way I looked," Ash said quietly, "I used to sneak out of the house when I knew no one was in," Ash explained, noticing a second confused look from May.

"I came here to get away from… me, really," Ash said, looking from his father's grave up to the sky, "I was so stuck in my own head, but coming here, and speaking to him… gave me some form of sanity," Ash explained, looking back down at Giovanni's grave as he spoke.

May hugged him from the side.

"I'm so sorry, Ash," she said, looking up at him from the side, Ash smiled sadly once more.

"It's so hard, y'know? He was always there… and now…" Ash started to say, before his voice cracked, "He's just gone," he finished quietly, before clearing his throat.

"Anyway, let's go put some fun back into my life," Ash quipped, trying to lift the general mood, smiling over at May, who returned the smile.

**-IYCSMN-**

Time flew by for the two teens.

As May predicted, the movie that the two decided to go and see ended up taking the time to just after 7pm, and with dinner still to come, May knew that Delia and her parents were going to have plenty of time to get everything ready.

May was delighted with the progress that she saw in Ash, she knew he wasn't over his father's death, and knew he never would be, but the fact that he was laughing and joking gave her a hell of a lot of belief.

Dinner was amazing.

May felt like she and Ash were on a date, they sat at a beautifully placed table, with an amazing view out the window, and an amazing view across the table.

They laughed, joked, were moved to tears by laughter, and above all to May, they _talked_, it had been months – pretty much since she and Drew started dating – that her and Ash had spent some _proper _time together.

May loved every second of it.

The duo were nearing the Ketchum residence, and May knew that everything was set up – she had received a text during dinner – and so there was no need for any stalling, straight down to business.

"May… I wanna thank you for tonight, I really did need it, you've made this a wonderful eighteenth birthday," Ash thanked her, gratitude extremely evident in his voice, as he smiled over at May.

"It was my pleasure, Ash, I'm just happy to see you smiling and laughing again," May replied, linking the fingers of her right hand with Ash's left as they walked, making both their hearts skip a beat.

Ash was really surprised.

He felt happy.

Something he genuinely thought he'd never feel again.

It wasn't that he'd gotten over Giovanni's death. No. That would never happen, Giovanni was always such a huge part of his life, and there was no way that Ash was ever going to get over it, but Ash finally felt that he had… accepted it.

Ash smiled to himself, feeling that there was no way that this night could turn sour.

Ash was wrong.

This was about to become the worst night of his life.

They approached the house, and Ash pulled out his key from his pocket.

"You coming in for a bit?" He asked, turning his head to smile at May, and to receive a response.

"If you don't mind," May replied, trying to hide her smirk as Ash nodded.

"Of course, silly," Ash replied, winking as he stepped inside.

May's grin escaped when Ash walked into the living room and switched on the lights, to a raucous "SURPRISE!"

Ash physically jumped, startled by the volume of cry, he turned to face the large crowd in front of him.

It was an identical moment to his tenth birthday.

Another smile broke over Ash's face.

A yellow blur smacked into his chest, slightly knocking him off balance.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu squealed happily, nuzzling Ash's neck.

"Hey Pi!" Ash replied, squeezing Pikachu tightly in a hug, before he was hugged once more, this time it was his mother.

"Happy birthday honey," Delia said happily, looking up and smiling at Ash.

Even though Ash was only just turning eighteen, he was an impressive size, being much taller than his mother and May, and even having a few inches on Norman.

"Thank you mum!" Ash replied, Pikachu shifting onto Ash's shoulder as the latter hugged his mother tightly.

For the next hour and a half, Ash went around everyone, receiving many hugs – especially from old friends such as Brock, Gary and Dawn – and many congratulations and cards, containing money.

But the night was torn apart by two gifts, from the two people Ash held closest.

It started with his mum.

Ash was sat on the sofa, with everyone surrounding him, watching him open his cards and presents, until there were the two aforementioned presents remaining.

May sat on one side of Ash, with Pikachu and Eevee curled up together on her lap, watching the birthday boy's face intently, a small smile on her face.

"Here you go, Ash, this is my present to you, on the day you turn a man, I couldn't be more proud of you," Delia said proudly, tears building in her eyes as she held, what appeared to be, a small box out to Ash.

"Thank you mum," Ash replied, hugging his mother briefly before he unwrapped the box from its wrapping.

Ash lifted the lid off the box and gasped as he saw what was inside.

It was a silver watch.

Not any silver watch.

It was his fathers.

Ash stared at it, unable to move, due to Ash's eidetic memory; he could remember his dad wearing this the day he first started to talk, and that memory played over in his mind.

The call for dinner, the first words, Giovanni and Delia's surprise, the first conversation.

Ash felt the crippling sadness start to fall over him once more, but he shook it off.

Ash took the watch out of the box and clipped it onto his wrist, before turning and hugging his mother once again.

"Thank you, mum, I love it," Ash said, as he tried to prevent his emotions taking over him.

"I wanted you to have something of his, and what better than the watch he wore the day you were born?" Delia asked rhetorically, smiling at Ash through tears as the two pulled apart.

"Thank you everyone for coming, and making this a special eighteenth birthday for me," Ash said to the large gathering, bowing slightly to show his gratitude.

"There's still one left, silly!" Ash heard from his left hand side, he turned to look at May, who was smiling back at him, holding out her present to him.

Ash looked quizzical. He'd already had a gift from the Maple's.

"This is just from me," May said shyly, blushing as she passed the present over to Ash.

It appeared to be a similar sized box to Delia's present.

"Thank you, May," Ash thanked May, smiling at her, as the two blushed lightly.

Ash once again ripped off the wrapping paper, and was surprised at what was held within.

May had bought him a new phone.

Ash's jaw dropped as he turned to look at May, who didn't make eye contact with him, looking away shyly and blushing.

"You said that yours broke before your exam on Valentine's Day, so what better present for your eighteenth?" May asked, shrugging nervously.

Ash turned and hugged May tightly.

"Thank you, May, I love y- it!" Ash said, literally biting his tongue after he spoke, hoping that May didn't notice the – almost – slip of the tongue.

Ash had almost accidentally confessed his feelings for May.

Maybe if he had, the night wouldn't have ended the way it did.

"I'm glad you do, Ash, now there's no excuse to ignore my texts!" May joked, as they pulled apart, her heart skipping a beat when she thought Ash was going to say "I love you."

"_Maybe I just misheard," _May thought sadly.

"Oh, by the way, Ash, I hadn't heard from you that day, so there may be a few angry messages from me if you use your old SIM card," May said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck.

Ash smirked slightly, before he pulled out his wallet and unzipped a little secret pocket on the inside, pulling out his old SIM card.

Ash inserted the SIM card before he turned the phone on.

After waiting a couple of minutes and setting up the phone, Ash let the messages flood onto the phone.

That's where everything went wrong.

It stood out immediately.

Through the crowd of missed calls from May and his mum, one stood out.

Dad.

"What is it, Ash?" May asked, noticing an instant change in Ash.

"Th-There's a voicemail from my dad…" Ash whispered, not having the physical capability to speak any louder.

May watched as Ash slowly lifted the phone to his ear, pressing play on the voicemail.

May watched as she saw something change in Ash's features.

May watched as something inside Ash's head snapped.

May watched as Ash excused himself and hurried out the room.

May watched as Ash raced down the street.

May watched as she saw Ash slip over the mental cliff.

"I'll go after him," May said, gently placing the sleeping duo of Pikachu and Eevee onto the sofa, before she rushed out the house after Ash.

There was no way she'd be able to see him in the distance, it was too dark and he was too far ahead for that to happen.

May thought to herself as she walked swiftly in the direction she assumed Ash had gone in.

Where would Ash go? May tried to think of places she knew that he would want to go.

After a few moments of wandering aimlessly in the direction Ash had left in, a thought struck May.

Giovanni's grave.

May rushed towards the church that had held Giovanni's funeral and burial, praying that that was indeed where Ash had gone, having no other leads.

May turned a corner and saw the church in front of her; she couldn't see Giovanni's grave from where she stood, so she continued to pray that this was where Ash had gone.

He had had a good ten minute head start on her, so she needed this to be where Ash had gone.

May rounded the corner of the church, into the cemetery behind it.

May wished she hadn't, as the scene in front of her made her feel physically sick.

May screamed.

Ash was lying next to Giovanni's grave, an empty bottle of Vodka next to him, and another one clasped in his grasp.

Strewn across his body were what appeared to be painkiller tablets.

Ash had tried to commit suicide.

_Ash _had tried to commit suicide.

_Ash _had tried to _commit suicide_.

_Ash had tried to commit suicide._

May tried to process this in her head, but she couldn't.

_Ash had tried to commit suicide._

If May didn't act fast, Ash would commit suicide.

Blinking back tears, May jumped into action, moving Ash into the recovery position, while ringing for an ambulance.

"Hello, ambulance service, how can we be of assistance?" a female voice asked.

"Please help… my friend's tried to commit suicide!" May sobbed into the phone, choking as she spoke.

"Please try and remain calm, miss, we'll help as quickly as we can, where are you?" the woman asked.

"Sir Aaron's church, Pallet Town," May replied, through her tears as she checked Ash's pulse with her left hand.

It was excruciatingly slow.

"The nearest ambulance unit is on its way, what has your friend done, miss?" the woman asked, May looked down at Ash to try and get a clearer understanding.

"He's drunk a whole bottle of Vodka, and a quarter of a second, and I think he's either tried to, or has, taken painkillers on top," May cried into the phone, tears streaming down her face.

"What is your friend's name, and have you contacted his parents or guardians?" the woman asked.

"Ash Ketchum, but I haven't contacted his mum, her name's Delia," May answered.

"Thank you miss, we'll be sure to contact his mum to make sure she knows what's going on, the ambulance will be with you any moment now, would you like me to stay on the phone?" the woman asked gently.

"No, but thank you so much for your help," May said, trying desperately to control her emotions, but as soon as she hung up the phone, she clung onto Ash and cried into his shoulder.

May felt herself being pried away from Ash.

May saw Ash being lifted onto a stretcher and slipped into an ambulance.

May felt herself being guided into the same ambulance.

May saw Ash fighting for his life.

**The End?**

**I'm really not sure where to go with this now! I've got an epilogue in mind, and two possible sequels/an extra chapter guiding Ash through his recovery, the sequel would be a spin-off to the epilogue.**

**But I'm not sure whether to add another chapter with Ash's mental recovery, or do it as a sequel, then follow that up with the epilogue and then the sequel?**

**It's all up to you guys!**

**Whether this is the last chapter or not, I want to thank everyone for their incredible support, all the reviews, followers and favouriters!**

**REVIEWS:**

**Amalgam24: … GET OUT OF MY HEAD! Thank you. I'm very sorry to hear about your dad. There's nothing wrong with crying about things like this, it **_**is **_**a very difficult subject especially for people who, unfortunately, have experienced the loss of a loved one.**

**RanaTheBanana: Thank you very much! I've always doubted myself, one of my main characteristics, and so it fills me with happiness and pride to receive such high praise, and it really is appreciated! Don't worry about long reviews, I love them!**

**Majoramiruddin: I agree, Ash could've done a hell of a lot worse, and I wanted him to, but I felt a broken jaw was satisfactory.**

**DarkLord28: Again, I'm very sorry to hear about your dad, I'm fortunate enough to still have mine in my life, but I can only imagine that for you, and Amalgam, that it is very tough to deal with, my thoughts are with both of your families. On a side note, I'm glad that I was able to make that scene emotional, as it was a key scene.**

**Aamaylover: Thank you so much! I'm really happy I was able to make the funeral scene as emotion-filled as I did. That's incredibly high praise, thank you!**

**Ashura Satoshi: Wow… Thank you so much! That review is probably the best I've ever received! Dude, your work is really good too, don't doubt yourself as I'm a massive fan of yours too! As I said before, it's a very emotionally charged chapter, I almost cried myself writing it lol! Urggh, you have no idea how much I wanted to have Ash murder Drew, but, as I said before, I felt the broken jaw was satisfactory, especially when you throw in the May break-up/slap! Unfortunately, I don't use beta readers, I do it myself, so often end up skim reading and missing the typos, which is frustrating for me, yeah, I do feel that description is a thing a struggle to write well, hopefully there was a bit more in this chapter! I felt it was the perfect title for this chapter, as it was the whole reason I wrote this story to be perfectly honest, and the song itself is just beautiful (lyrics wise). Thank you so much for your reviews, Ashura, they mean a lot to me.**

**Ultratron562: Thank you, I'm really glad at how well received the emotions of chapter four was received, and thank you for your review!**

**LegitEmi: It's just a tearfest up in here! Haha! I had to add some humour somewhere, why not the review replies?**

**Advanced-ZeroX: Thank you, I'm glad you like the story and I'm glad I was able to make it beautiful, as it's a very emotion-based story (something I'm not used to writing).**

**And judging by all the reviews, the tissue companies have got their money's worth!**

**I genuinely mean all my thanks to the reviews on this story.**

**Be sure to let me know whether you want another chapter (Ash's recovery), or straight to the epilogue!**

**Peace out hombres!**

**~AF~**


	6. Recovery

"Welcome, Mr. Ketchum, please, take a seat," a man in a black suit, with a white shirt and black tie said, gesturing towards the chair in front of the one he was currently sat in.

Stood in the door way was a raven-haired teen, with bright auburn eyes, distinguishable "z" marks underneath the aforementioned eyes. He was wearing dark blue jeans and white running trainers, he also donned a top half blue, bottom half white long-sleeved hoody. Atop the teens head sat a hat, with a white front, and red side, with a blue Poké Ball symbol on the front.

"Thank you," the teen replied quietly, not making eye contact, as he drifted across the room and into the armchair facing the suited man.

"So, Mr. Ketchum, you've been referred to me by your doctor regarding an attempted suicide, if it's okay, would you mind explaining to me exactly what happened?" the man asked, flicking through the notes resting on a clipboard sat on his lap.

"Well… It all started with the death of my father…" Ash said quietly, looking down at the floor, "And then on my eighteenth birthday, my mum gave me his watch that he _always _used to wear." Ash indicated to the watch that was strapped onto his left wrist.

"And then I got a new phone, as my old one had been broken since the day of my dad's death, and once I'd turned it on, and all the messages and voicemails and missed calls had come up, one stood out," Ash explained, still not looking up at the psychiatrist.

"Was there one from your father?" the psychiatrist asked, Ash nodded slowly, still not making eye contact, "And then what happened?"

"I snapped," Ash said briefly, "It felt like something had snapped in my mind, and I just felt I couldn't live without him."

"So I bought alcohol, and paracetamol tablets, and curled up next to him to die," Ash said honestly, "It was my girlfriend who found me there," Ash added, finally making eye contact with the man sat across from him.

"Did your girlfriend not offer herself as someone to talk to, when you started feeling depressed?" the psychiatrist asked, taking notes as Ash spoke.

"Well, to be fair to her, she wasn't my girlfriend at the time, plus, I secluded myself from society, locked myself away in my bedroom," Ash answered, lightly scratching his arm as he explained.

"Aaah, I see," the psychiatrist said, nodding his head, writing down notes in response to what Ash had just said.

"I'm sure she would have, had I allowed anyone to help me," Ash added, "I just sat in my room writing music, ninety-nine per cent of it about my dad…" Ash said, rubbing his forehead with his right hand.

"Yes, I was forwarded some of this music by your mother… World So Cold stood out a lot to me," the psychiatrist replied, once again browsing his notes.

Ash nodded.

"It did to me too," Ash said, "To be honest, I felt like the best way to communicate how I was feeling was to turn it into a song, at the time, it didn't feel like I could explain how I was feeling through normal words," Ash explained.

"And then it says here you turned to drink, what was your reasoning for this?" the psychiatrist asked softly, again, flicking through his notes for the information.

"It… It gave me another sensation other than crippling sadness…" Ash answered, "Instead of just feeling empty and hollow, like a shell, it at least made me feel," Ash added, lowering his head to look at the floor as he spoke.

"And then came the attempted suicide?" the psychiatrist asked as gently as he could, Ash nodded.

"My girlfriend and I, who was still my friend at the time, went out for the day, I was starting to feel like I could laugh and joke again, but then it all came crashing down at my surprise party," Ash explained.

The psychiatrist raised his eyebrows in interest, taking notes throughout Ash's speeches.

"I think I mentioned it before, but my mum gave me his watch as my eighteenth birthday present," Ash explained, the psychiatrist nodded.

"And then the voicemail?" the psychiatrist asked, it was Ash's turn to nod, "Do you mind me asking what it said?"

"Well, the voicemail was actually from the morning of my exam… Valentine's Day… The day that my father actually passed away," Ash explained quietly, looking at the floor again.

"I understand how tough this is for you Ash, and I understand if you feel like you can't tell me what the voicemail said," the psychiatrist said softly, smiling warmly at Ash, who glanced up at the man in front of him.

Ash took a deep breath, and reached into his pocket, pulling out his mobile.

"_You have no new messages, key 1 for saved messages,_" Ash's phone said, as Ash dialled in the voicemail number.

"_Saved messages_."

Ash glanced up at the psychiatrist, who was listening intently.

"_Hey Ashy, it's your dad, can't get hold of you, seems you've forgotten to charge your phone or something, typical you!_" Ash's phone read out the message, exactly in Giovanni's voice, Ash started to tear up at hearing the message once again, "_Just wanted to wish you luck for your exam today kiddo, I'll see you later for dinner, I love you champ!_"

A few tears rolled silently down Ash's face at the sound of his father's voice, but he quickly wiped them away with his sleeve, before sliding his phone back in his pocket, and looking up at the psychiatrist.

"I was always brought up to be respectful and show manners, and ever since I can remember, so-called "last words," have been important to me," Ash explained, his voice sounding restrained, "My dad's last ever words to me were "I love you champ"… I couldn't hope for any better," Ash said, looking the psychiatrist straight in the eyes as he spoke, "My last words to him were "night dad, see you in the morning, love you," as I went to bed the night before… But I never saw him in the morning," Ash lowered his head once again as he spoke, letting the tears slip down his face.

"Thank you for playing it Ash, that took a lot of courage," the psychiatrist responded, leaning forward and placing a reassuring hand on Ash's shoulder.

"Thank you…" Ash mumbled.

"If you wouldn't mind Ash… I'd like to hear what you can remember of your attempted suicide… is that okay?" the psychiatrist asked softly.

"Well… I think you have it in your notes about the alcohol and tablets, and that I was at my father's grave?" Ash asked, and the psychiatrist nodded in response, "well, I thought if I was going to die, I wanted to be with my dad…" Ash said quietly.

"I see…" the psychiatrist muttered, taking more notes, "would you mind telling me about… what happened, or how you felt as you were lying by your father's grave?" the psychiatrist asked.

**-IYCSMN-**

Ash felt cold.

Ash felt empty.

Ash felt weak.

Everything was dark, Ash couldn't see a thing.

"Am I… Am I dead?" Ash wondered, looking around in the darkness.

He tried to walk forwards a few steps, but nothing seemed to happen.

Then, all of a sudden, a blinding white light appeared in the distance, seemingly heading towards Ash at an alarming rate.

The light became so strong that Ash had to close his eyes, and shield them with his arm, leaning away from the light.

After a few moments the light faded away, and Ash cracked his eyes open.

There was a figure standing in front of him.

Ash moved his arm down and tried to focus his eyes on the person in front of him.

Ash gasped.

Giovanni was smiling warmly at his son, a light seemed to emit from Giovanni's body, but he looked exactly the same.

"Hello son," Giovanni said, his voice radiating in Ash's head, spreading warmth and life throughout his body.

"D-Dad!" Ash stuttered, "Am… Am I dead?" Ash asked, his eyes open wide in shock. Giovanni shook his head.

"No, son, you are in limbo… or a coma, one of the two," Giovanni replied, "You've done a rather stupid thing, haven't you?" Giovanni asked.

Ash lowered his head.

"My life isn't the same without you," Ash replied, quietly, Giovanni frowned.

"Ash, just because I'm not there, doesn't mean I'm _not there_," Giovanni said, making Ash raise his head and look at his father in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked, Giovanni smiled at Ash's question.

"I'm always with you, Ash," Giovanni said, "I'm always with you, and your mother, watching over you," Giovanni added, still smiling brightly at Ash.

"My whole life seems colder without you though," Ash said, lowering his head again, feeling tears building in his eyes.

Giovanni frowned.

"Ash… You're needed elsewhere," Giovanni said briefly, making Ash look up at him once more, "Your time will come for us to meet again, but not for many years," Giovanni added.

"But…" Ash said, gulping.

"No buts, Ash," Giovanni replied, stepping forward and placing a hand on Ash's shoulder.

Giovanni's hand radiated warmth, which spread throughout Ash's body once more.

"Ash… You have a future, an amazing future, you have to go back," Giovanni said, looking Ash directly in the eyes.

"You are loved, by _so _many," Giovanni added, making sure Ash was listening to every word he said, "You can't leave your mother behind, you can't leave your Pokémon behind, especially Pikachu," Giovanni said. As he spoke, images of the people he mentioned appeared in the background behind him.

Ash felt himself tearing up again.

"But I need you…" Ash said quietly, "You've always been there, and now you're not, and I don't know what meaning my life has anymore…" Ash muttered, a lone tear falling down his face.

Giovanni lifted Ash's head up and wiped the tear, sending more waves of warmth into Ash.

"You give meaning to someone else's life," Giovanni said, smiling at Ash, who looked confused.

May's face appeared in the background.

"You're everything to her, Ash," Giovanni said, "She had an extra present for you, but I'll leave that to her," Giovanni hinted, smirking slyly.

"Ash, you give _everyone's _lives meaning, and that's a gift, a gift that the world needs," Giovanni explained, "You need to go back, you need to be there for your mother, for your Pokémon, for May," Ash started to smile slightly as Giovanni spoke.

"You need to follow in my footsteps, no, you need to surpass my legacy," Giovanni said, standing up straight, "You are going to be amazing, Ash," Giovanni said, "You are going to shine so, _so _bright."

"And I'm going to be there watching, and cheering you on, _every. Single. Step_," Giovanni said, his voice oozing with pride, as he said the last three words clearly.

By the end of his speech, Ash was beaming back at his father.

"I'll make you proud, dad," Ash promised, clenching a fist determinedly.

"You make me proud every day, son," Giovanni replied, smiling brightly back at Ash.

"I love you, dad," Ash said, feeling tears burn his eyes once more.

"I love you more, son," Giovanni replied, and the two embraced.

Ash felt warm.

Ash felt complete.

Ash felt strong.

**-IYCSMN-**

Ash awoke to the sound of voices, and a piercing headache.

He daren't open his eyes, for fear of the pure burning sensation that undoubtedly lay ahead for his eyes.

He could just about pick out voices.

"Is he going to be okay?"

His mum, without a doubt.

"Yes, ma'am, we just received the results of his tests, no lasting damage, just the wait for him to wake up, and then the long road of mental recovery," a male voice replied.

Must be the doctor, Ash assumed.

"And he's definitely going to be okay?"

May.

"Yes, Ash will be fighting fit before you know it," the male voice replied again.

"Thank you doctor, thank you so much!" Delia said, Ash could tell that both his mum and May had been crying, their voices sounded strained and choked up.

"May, do you mind sitting with him for a bit? I desperately need some air, and a drink," Delia said, sounding frail.

"Of course, Delia, this must be really tough for you," May replied, Ash could tell that May was worried about his mum, from May's tone of voice.

"I should have seen it coming… Ash and Giovanni were so close, I should've seen this coming a mile off," Delia said, making Ash feel guilty.

His mum had been there for him almost as much as his dad, and with the loss of Giovanni, Ash should've stepped up as the man of the house, and comforted his mother.

But instead Ash crumbled like a rock.

"I won't be too long," Delia added, before Ash heard a door open up and shut again.

Ash heard May sigh.

"Ohh Ash… Why wouldn't you let me help you?" May asked.

Ash heard footsteps, and then the squeak of a chair moving forward.

May cupped Ash's right hand in both of hers.

"This all could've been avoided if you'd spoken to us…" May said, her voice barely above a whisper, but just loud enough for Ash to hear.

"Please come back to us, Ash," May begged, Ash felt her hands shaking, and her voice sounded restrained.

She was crying.

"I need you, Ash," May sobbed, squeezing Ash's hand in hers.

Giovanni's words echoed through Ash's head.

_You're everything to her Ash, she had an extra present for you, but I'll leave that to her._

"Please, Ash… I love you," May confessed, still crying, Ash felt weight placed on his right shoulder, and a tingling sensation across his face.

May was resting her head on his shoulder.

Realisation struck Ash like a lightning bolt.

_Please, Ash… I love you._

"_She… She loves me…" _Ash thought, he smirked slightly.

May's eyes widened in shock as she felt one of her hands being squeezed back.

Her head shot up and she stared at Ash, hope and expectation shining in her sapphire eyes.

"I love you too, May," Ash whispered back, just loudly enough for May to hear, before he cracked open his right eye, and smirking slightly.

Ash could see May's jaw drop, and his eye focused in more, and he ignored the searing sensation that was building in that eye.

May's hair was a mess, her eyes were bloodshot and she looked pale.

But not to Ash.

To Ash she looked gorgeous.

"Ash!" May squealed, leaping forward and embracing Ash tightly, an embrace that Ash happily returned.

May pulled back sharply, as something tweaked in her head.

"You… You love me?" She asked happily, a smile breaking out on her face.

"I love you, May," Ash replied, firmly, smiling back at May.

May's hand shot to her mouth, but it couldn't hide the huge smile building beneath.

In one swift movement, May moved that hand from in front of her mouth, to Ash's left cheek, and then brought her lips to his.

It was a short, sweet kiss.

Unfortunately for the love-struck pair, the kiss was interrupted by a gasp, and something hitting the floor, spilling its contents all over the floor.

The two pulled apart to see a shocked Delia standing in the doorway, and a cup of tea spilt all over the floor.

Ash and May blushed slightly at the smile that swiftly overrode the look of shock.

"Ashy! You're awake!" Delia said excitedly, rushing over and embracing her son.

"I'm so sorry mum, May, I really am," Ash said quietly, as he hugged his mum back.

"There's no need to be sorry, Ash, we're just glad you're okay," May replied, placing a hand on Ash's right shoulder, smiling supportively at him.

"Thanks May," Ash replied, smiling back.

"So!" Delia said, pulling back, "when's the wedding you two?" Delia asked slyly, smirking and winking at the flustered teens.

"MUM!" Ash shouted, heavy blushes quickly moving onto the two teens faces, "I haven't even had a chance to ask May to be my girlfriend yet, let alone my _fiancée_!" Ash exclaimed, before his hand shot to his mouth.

May's blush reddened further, and Delia smirked at Ash

"I was winding you up, Ash, but if you want May to be your fiancée, that's fine by me," Delia teased, winking once more, as the teens blushes deepened _again_.

Ash shook it off, before turning to May.

"May, will you be my girlfriend," Ash said firmly, smiling brightly at May, whilst taking her hand in his.

"Of course I will, Ash," May said happily, smiling back at Ash, squeezing his hand in response.

The two shared another short kiss as Delia squealed in the background.

"My Ashy's got a girlfriend!" Delia squealed, almost jumping up and down.

Ash just rolled his eyes.

"_Make me proud, Ash, I know you will," _A voice rang out in Ash's head, his eyes widened in shock.

It was his father's voice.

Ash glanced out the window and noticed a bright rainbow coloured bird fly by, looking directly at Ash as it passed.

It was Ho-Oh.

Ash understood in that moment what his father had meant.

_I'm always with you, and your mother, watching over you._

Ash smiled.

"_My dad was being honest… He always will be watching me," _Ash thought to himself, still smiling.

He refocused on May, who was smiling at him, and his smile widened in return.

"I love you, May," Ash said, a warm feeling building up as he stared at his girlfriend.

"I love you too, Ashy," May replied with a little giggle.

**-IYCSMN-**

"And that was that," Ash said, "That's the story," Ash added.

The psychiatrist finished taking down his notes, before placing the clipboard down on the wooden table just to the right hand side of his armchair.

"Well, Ash, I have to say that I don't think that you need any therapy with me," the psychiatrist said honestly, much to Ash's surprise.

"Really?" Ash asked, his eyes widened slightly in his surprise.

"Really, I think you have people around you and close to you who will look after you and provide you with the support you need," the psychiatrist answered, smiling as he sat back in his chair.

"So, no more sessions?" Ash asked, still trying to register what he had been told.

"Your doctor will monitor you with a couple of sessions around three months apart, but you certainly don't need my help, you're firmly on the road to recovery and have the people around you to help you complete that road," the psychiatrist explained, still smiling as he spoke.

"You've had the closure you need to make a full recovery, your conversation with your father has helped you come to terms with his passing, obviously, you'll never truly get passed it, no one does, but it will certainly not end up like this again," the psychiatrist finished, before standing up, buttoning up his suit jacket as he did so.

Ash stood up too.

"Thank you so much, sir, it's been good to talk about everything… I feel like a weight's been lifted off my shoulders, somewhat," Ash said honestly, reaching out and shaking the psychiatrists hand.

"It's been my pleasure, Ash, and I have no concerns about you at all, you're going to be a fine young gentleman," the psychiatrist replied, accepting Ash's handshake.

"Thank you, sir," Ash thanked, blushing slightly at the complement.

"I wish you all the best with your life, and look forward to seeing what you accomplish," the psychiatrist said, guiding Ash towards the door.

"Honestly, sir, thank you for your help," Ash thanked, as he opened the door to leave.

"It's been my pleasure, Ash," the psychiatrist replied, "farewell."

"Bye!" Ash called back as he left the room and shut the door behind him.

Ash walked into the room two hours previous, anxious, but, he left the room feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, like a new man.

Ash felt like he was going to become the man his father wanted him to be.

Ash smiled as he walked through the corridor and into the waiting room, where he spotted May waiting patiently in the chair nearest the exit.

May noticed Ash leaving and smiled up at him, before bouncing up off her seat and walking towards him, the two met in the middle of the room in a tight embrace.

"All clear," Ash mumbled into May's head.

"I never doubted you," May replied, before pulling away slightly and smiling up at Ash, who returned the gesture.

"Where's Pi? I thought he was coming with you?" Ash asked, looking around for his faithful Pokémon companion.

"He's waiting in the car with Eevee and your mum, we all came to get you," May replied, smiling at Ash, as she turned so she was side on with him, and linked her left hand into his right.

"Come on, Ashy, let's go home," May said, squeezing Ash's hand and smiling up at him.

Ash smiled back happily, and the duo walked out of the psychiatrists office, and out onto the street, where Ash could see his mum, Pikachu and Eevee waiting in the car across the street.

Ash turned and shut the door behind him, smiling at it, feeling like he had shut all his troubles and torments behind the door.

A fresh start, a new start.

A life to live, and a bright love to live that life with.

Ash Ketchum and May Maple.

"I love you, Ash," May said spontaneously, beaming up at her boyfriend, who smiled back.

"I love you too, May."

"_Ohh dad, If you could see me now," _Ash thought with a small smile.

**THE END.**

**There it is.**

**Did you like it? Did I rush Ash's recovery a little too much?**

**Just a footnote, if you didn't realise, the two scenes in between the psychiatrist parts, were what happened after Ash's attempted suicide. The aftermath, if you will.**

**REVIEWS:**

**Bronski: Thank you for your review, and I must apologise for putting you in a mood, I hope that mood passed!**

**L'assassin orange: Dude, AWESOME name! Wow… Thank you so much! I'm really happy that I was able to make this story so emotional; it was a really vital aspect to make the story work, thank you so much!**

**Ultratron562: As soon as you reviewed this (first on the chapter), I knew I had to do this final chapter (excluding the epilogue), as I, ashamed to admit, forgot about the voicemail… *FACEPALM* but there it is, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Aah the sequel, more on that in a moment…**

**Amalgam24: Seeing as you're in my head, I don't need to reply! Just kidding! I, unfortunately, have suffered heavy depression in a similar fashion to Ash had done in this story, so I sort of wanted to touch upon the difficult subject of depression (or mental health, if you prefer), I hope you enjoyed this chapter too!**

**LegitEmi: Pretty much as soon as I posted chapter 5 (plus Ultratrons review), this chapter became necessary. It's unknown to me too! I've never been that good at portraying emotions, so this story was a nice change for me. Damn, those wet sleeves, huh? Thank you, it's generally the sort of music I listen to, and funnily enough, I listened to If You Could See Me Now, Kiss Me, and World So Cold, all in a row one night, which created a majority of this story! Thank you for your review!**

**Ashura Satoshi: Thank you! I know, my description bugs the hell out of me, it seems fine as I'm going along, but when I re-read it, it bugs me! The lack of Advanceshippyness, another change for me, usually my stories are hugely AaMayl based, so was very weird for it only to spark in the final few scenes of the final chapter! Thank you, Ashura! I know must be a writer's thing? I'm never satisfied, but every chapter has to go up at some point, right? BTW, loving the Evolved From The Dead, fantastic start! **

**Advanced-ZeroX: Thank you! SUSPENSE OVER MY FRIEND! I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**SO, the sequel?! Well, you'll have to wait until the epilogue to find out, as the information for the sequel, will be in the epilogue!**

**I want to thank everyone who has reviewed on this story, and everyone who has added it to their favourites and followed it, without a shadow of a doubt this is my most popular story to date, and I want to thank everyone one of you for your support.  
Until next time, my friends! **

**~AF~**


	7. Epilogue

A lone man wandered through a field of gravestones, he wore dark black trousers, and a black vest hoodie over a long white sleeved t-shirt. The man had pulled the hood over his face to protect him from the sharp wind that was making its way across the cemetery.

The man's destination was obvious to him, he could spot it a mile off, whereas most of the headstones had been untouched and left to deteriorate and crust over, the one he was heading to looked sparkly clean and almost new, when in reality, it was almost seven years old.

The man reached the headstone and smiled to himself slightly.

"Hey dad," the man said quietly, still smiling to himself, he leant down and kissed his fingertips before placing them onto the headstone.

"Here lies Giovanni Ketchum, cherished by all who loved him," the headstone said, followed underneath by; "A loving husband and son, will be missed by all, 28/9/1970-14/2/2013,"

Ash stood back up and stared at the grave for a few moments.

"Well… where do I start?" Ash asked rhetorically, a small smile still etched onto his face.

"For starters, May's pregnant… Again," Ash said, grinning a bit more, before his face turned serious, "We're just hoping that this one will go a lot smoother than her pregnancy with Liam… But you know all about that, and how stressful and eventful that was."

Ash smiled again.

"But he's our ray of sunshine, mum adores him, spoils him like mad," Ash chuckled, "He's already started talking… A bit father-like-son, if you will," Ash grinned, "He asks about you, you know? Two years old and he notices."

"He's seemed to make the connection that May is his mum, I'm his dad, but then we both have mums and dads, he's figured out that Norman and Caroline are May's parents, and mum is mine, but he asks where my dad is… In a way."

"He knows… somehow, he'll call Norman 'mum-dad,' Caroline 'mum-mum,' he'll call… Delia, I'll call mum to make it clearer, he calls her 'dad-mum,' and he asks where 'dad-dad,' is," Ash explained, rubbing the back of his neck as he spoke.

"We tell him you're in a special place, but you're looking over all of us," Ash said, "And he just giggles to himself in response," Ash smiled again.

"But yeah, we're praying that this pregnancy is smoother, not that we don't love Liam, he's our whole world, but after his pregnancy, I doubt May could take the strain again…" Ash said frowning slightly.

"We're looking forward to the challenge, and Liam's very excited, he keeps running up to May and cuddling up to her belly, asking when he's going to meet his sibling," Ash added, a little grin spreading across his face once more.

Ash ran his right hand through his hair, but making sure that his hood stayed up to protect him from the cold.

"Other big news," Ash said, his smile growing even wider, "The Kanto Pokémon Association called back the other day."

"I'm all set to replace Koga, who's retiring after this year's Regional League; obviously I'll start at the lowest rank… But hopefully I can build my way up," Ash said, looking up at the sky as he spoke.

"I'm gonna be a member of the Elite Four!" Ash exclaimed proudly, grinning up to the sky.

"I still hold the record as a Frontier Brain… Youngest ever and only one to remain unbeaten," Ash said with a slight chuckle, "I followed in your footsteps and look where it's brought me," Ash added, a big smile making its way onto Ash's face.

"Ohh, and alongside that, Gary's persistent in me taking up a larger role at the lab, but he doesn't understand that I won't be able to with my new roles as member of the Kanto Elite Four!" Ash exclaimed, grinning to himself, "They've lined up Norman to replace me as the Pallet Town Frontier Brain," Ash added.

Ash chuckled again.

"Seems like just yesterday I was battling Norman to win my eighth Kanto Gym Badge… And obviously you know what happened at the regionals and the… 'Aftermath'," Ash said, making an air quotation gesture with his fingers, another grin on his face.

Ash's face darkened slightly.

"I haven't told May yet, because I don't want her worrying, but there's rumours of Teams Aqua and Magma, the ones I told you about from Hoenn, trying to resurrect Team Rocket, we don't need those idiots back trying to take over the world again," Ash said gloomily, putting his head in his hands.

"Especially after what happened when May was pregnant with Liam…" Ash muttered through his hands, "I still haven't forgiven myself for putting her, and him, in danger like that…" Ash added darkly, turning his gaze up to the heavens.

"I almost lost the love of my life and my future son in one go… But you know about that, so I won't linger on it too long," Ash added, shifting his attentions back to the grave in front of him.

"Obviously, neither of us knew for certain she was pregnant, but May had her suspicions," Ash said, running his hand through his hair once more, "otherwise I never would've let May out of my sights, never would've let her get involved."

Ash frowned.

"I'm scared, dad," Ash muttered, looking down at the grave, "I'm so, so scared."

"I almost failed her and Liam once before… plus, I've hardly spent any time with him because of my duties… What if I can't be there for May in a time when she needs me the most?" Ash asked rhetorically, rubbing his face with both his hands.

Ash growled in frustration.

"She loves me, so much," Ash mumbled through his hands, "I can tell just by the way she looks at me… Even though I've failed her time and time again, she still looks at me the same way… The same adorable loving way."

"And it hurts sometimes," Ash said darkly, lowering his hands and staring at Giovanni's grave, "Because even though I know I've let her down, and _she _knows I've let her down, she still looks at me that way."

Ash fell onto has backside, and lifted his knees slightly so he could rest his elbows on them, whilst still being able to look at Giovanni's grave.

"How did you do it, dad?" Ash asked, "You made it look so easy, being a parent, being a Gym Leader, being an amazing role model… How did you manage it all?" Ash asked rhetorically, once more craning his neck to look at the sky as he spoke.

"Liam is two, two," Ash said, saying the word twice for emphasis (EMPHASIS – get the reference?), "Two years old and I… I've hardly been there for him!" Ash shouted, punching the floor in anger.

Ash breathed heavily, almost panting.

"I wanted to be just like you," Ash said quietly, his voice cracking slightly.

"I wanted to be the perfect father, follow your footsteps," Ash lowered his head as he spoke, "I want to turn back time and rectify all the mistakes I've made with Liam, and May… But she still treats me as if I've done nothing wrong…" Ash mumbled, again, placing his head in his hands.

"I need to make it up to the both of them, and not make the same mistakes with the new-born," Ash said, determinedly, looking back at Giovanni's grave, the tone of his voice was echoed by the look on his face.

"I'm going to be like you, I've always wanted to be, and I'm going to make sure I do."

"For Liam and for May, and of course, for our second child," Ash said, clenching a fist, once more, as a show of determination.

As small smile crossed his lips, and swiftly widened into a huge grin.

"I almost forgot to tell you! It's mine and May's fifth wedding anniversary this year…" Ash drifted off, as happy memories of his and May's relationship floated across his mind, and the smile only widened.

"I can still remember that first official date; it was a magical night, the dinner, the walk along the beach, and then the shiny Luvdisc leaping out of the water! Ohhh… She's so amazing!" Ash gushed slightly, his face reddening.

"I managed to get that Luvdisc for her as well, for our two year anniversary, funnily enough, just before she told me she was pregnant," Ash chuckled slightly.

"I worked so hard to find it too," Ash said, smirking, "It did help that that specific school of Luvdisc happened to migrate past Pallet Town every year, but even then I had to pinpoint it down to a specific day," Ash explained, still smirking slightly.

He shifted his weight so he was sitting cross-legged on the floor, directly in front of Giovanni's grave.

"I can't believe we've been married five years now… five," Ash emphasised, smiling widely, "It really doesn't feel that long, I really hope I can make this anniversary special for her, she deserves it."

"She's been there for me when I've had my funny turns," Ash said, frowning slightly, "She just seems to have everything sussed out… How to be a parent, a wife and a Top Coordinator…"

"May's not just managing it at a normal level, she's exceptional with everything she does," Ash said, looking up at the gravestone, "She's the Giovanni Ketchum of my family," Ash whispered with a small smile.

"Right, well, I best be getting back now, May's got a scan today, we could possibly find out the gender if we wanted to," Ash explained, standing up, "But we might leave it this time, have a little bit of a surprise, but May and I haven't had much time to discuss it," Ash added, a smile creeping onto his face.

"I love you, dad," Ash said quietly, once more kissing his fingers and placing them on the gravestone.

Ash stood upright, and with one last, lingering look, walked out of the graveyard and into the car park on the other side of the big black gates.

Once on the other side of the gate, Ash turned back and stared at the shining gravestone in the middle of the cemetery, standing out head and shoulders above the rest.

Giovanni Ketchum, the same in death as he was in life, shining above all else.

Ash smiled to himself.

"I'm going to be like you in the end… I promise," Ash said determinedly, clenching a fist as he tore his gaze away, and turned to his car, so he could go and pick May up for her scan.

-IYCSMN-

"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Ketchum, it's a beautiful baby girl!" the midwife exclaimed, holding the new-born gently in her arms.

Ash smiled down at May, who looked exhausted, but delighted.

"A beautiful baby girl…" May mumbled, in somewhat of a daze, but she still wore a bright smile.

"Like mother, like daughter," Ash said proudly, planting a kiss on May's forehead, and shifting his body position so that May could lean on his shoulder, whilst still holding his hand.

"Would you like to hold her, Mr Ketchum?" the midwife asked politely, having cleaned and wrapped up the baby.

"I think May would like to first," Ash replied politely, smiling at May once more.

May shook her head.

"I had that privilege with Liam, it's your turn, Ashy," May replied, smiling back weakly.

The two parents shared a quick kiss, before Ash stood up and walked over to the midwife.

"Here you go, Mr. Ketchum," the midwife said, smiling at Ash as she passed over the new-born.

"Thank you," Ash said quietly, holding the baby protectively in his arms.

She blinked back it him with glowing sapphire eyes, a small tuft of brown hair on the top of her head, and instantaneously, Ash could see the resemblance to May.

Ash turned to his wife, and walked over so he was beside her again.

"She's got your looks," Ash said, smiling brightly at May.

May's smile widened.

"Like mother, like daughter," May whispered before she drifted off to sleep.

Ash leant over and kissed her forehead once more.

"Sleep tight, my angel," Ash whispered, before he sat down in an armchair next to the bed, his gaze firmly fixed onto the new-born in his arms.

I'm always with you, watching over you.

Ash jumped slightly as his father's voice rang in his head.

Ash looked out of the hospital window and watched in awe as Ho-Oh flew past the window, gold rays seeming to emanate from the Legendary bird.

The gold rays seemed to drift into the hospital room, and touch May's, Ash's and the baby's hearts.

Ash smiled as a warmth spread through his entire body.

May's eyes crept open slightly.

"Hey gorgeous, how are you feeling?" Ash asked gently, smiling over at May.

"Tired, but I'll be fine," May replied sleepily, smiling back at Ash.

"Do you wanna hold her?" Ash asked, lifting the baby slightly in his arms, so May knew who he was talking about.

"Yes please, Ashy," May replied, shifting her body slightly so she was in a more upright position.

Ash stood up, and walked over to the bed that May was laying in, and gently slipped the baby into May's arms.

Tears of joy started to build in May's eyes as she looked down at her daughter.

"Ash… You know we gave Liam your father's name as his middle name?" May asked, still slightly dazed and tired from the labour.

"Yes honey, why?" Ash queried, sitting on the edge of the bed and slipping an arm around May's shoulder.

"We should call her Georgia," May said smiling up at Ash.

Ash smiled back, both the parents' eyes shining brightly with love.

"That's a gorgeous name, May," Ash replied, shifting his body position once more, so the three were enveloped in a family hug.

"Liam Giovanni Ketchum and Georgia Ketchum," May said pride evident in her tone of voice.

"I've been thinking, May, what if we put all our parents' names as the kids official middle names?" Ash suggested, planting another kiss on May's forehead.

May looked up at Ash with confusion written on her face.

"What do you mean, Ashy?" She asked.

"Liam Giovanni Norman Ketchum, Georgia Caroline Delia Ketchum," Ash replied, smiling brightly at May and the newly named Georgia.

A few tears slipped out of May's eyes as she smiled back at Ash.

"Sounds very good to me," May replied, leaning up and kissing Ash.

The kiss was interrupted by the door flinging wide open, and a blur rushing in towards the bed.

"Daddy! Mummy!" Liam shouted, latching himself onto Ash's leg and jumping up and down excitedly.

"Hey, trouble, want to see your sister?" Ash asked, smiling, leaning down and picking Liam up, before resting the young child on his left arm, so that Liam could see both May and Georgia.

Liam smiled brightly at May, before turning his gaze to Georgia and frowning slightly, he looked up at Ash with confusion obvious on his face.

"Why is she so little?" Liam asked, cocking his head a little as he gazed up at Ash.

Ash and May looked at each other for a second before they both started to laugh.

"She's only just been born, Liam, you were that little once," Ash replied, smiling down at the little boy in his arms.

Liam's jaw dropped as he looked back and forth between Georgia and Ash.

"How could I have been that little? I'm too big!" Liam exclaimed, still looking between Ash and Georgia as he spoke.

Ash and May laughed again.

"It's true, sweetie, even your father and I were that size once," May said through giggles, winking at Liam and Ash as she spoke.

Liam's jaw almost hit the floor.

"But… But… You and mummy are huge!" Liam squealed, pointing at May and Ash, "you must be lying!" Liam added, crossing his arms and pouting. By this point, Ash and May were in stitches, and their laughter seemed to pass into Georgia as well, the newborn had a smile on her face.

"Ash, look, Georgia is smiling," May pointed out, smiling down at her daughter, rubbing her face with one of her fingers.

"Mummy, can I cuddle with you and sissy?" Liam asked, smiling at his mother.

"Of course, Liam," May said, as Ash leant over May and placed Liam down on May's right hand side, "her name is Georgia, sweetie," May added, shifting the aforementioned newborn onto her left hand side, and putting her arm round Liam, who laid his head on May's belly.

Ash sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the three, a big smile on his face.

"Liam, are both nannies and granddad outside?" Ash asked.

Liam lifted his head off May's stomach and looked up at Ash.

"Of course, daddy, how else do you think I got here from nursery?" Liam asked, giggling as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Ash smiled to himself as he turned and went to leave the room.

"Where you going, honey?" May asked, grabbing Ash's attention.

Ash turned to look at his family.

"Just going to tell our parents that everything's okay."

"Make sure you're quick, Ashy," May said, winking, and Ash smiled back at her.

"I will."

Ash turned and slipped out of the door as quietly as he could.

He took a moment to let everything sink in, on the other side of the door he had just exited, was his family, _his _family, a little nuclear family.

Ash's smile grew even bigger.

"Ashy!" the call snapped Ash out of his momentary daze, he raised his head to see his mother, with Pikachu on her lap, Caroline, Norman and Max, sat on metal chairs in the waiting room.

Ash walked over and caught Pikachu, who had leapt towards him.

"Hey buddy," Ash greeted his longest companion, before letting the electric mouse shift onto his shoulder.

Ash turned his gaze to his mother and in-laws sat in front of him, who all had their eyebrows raised expectantly, Ash shot a quick glance at Pikachu, who also shared the look.

"Ohh right!" Ash exclaimed to himself, "She's absolutely fine, both of them," Ash exclaimed, smiling brightly, "My little girls," he added, the smile growing even further.

"Congratulations!" the four in front of him exclaimed as one, all jumping up in unison and converging around Ash.

"Have you decided on a name?" Caroline asked, drawing Ash's attention to her.

"Well actually, we've decided on names for both of them," Ash answered cryptically, causing confusion amongst all five of them, even Pikachu was confused by his trainer's words.

"Well, the newborn we've decided to name Georgia Caroline Delia Ketchum."

At this, both grandmothers started to tear up, and they embraced each other in a hug.

"Ash, that's wonderful," Delia said to her son, as the two women pulled apart slightly, so that they could look at Ash.

"But what did you mean by both of them? It wasn't twins, right?" Norman asked, shifting everyone's attentions to him.

Ash smiled again.

"No, no, but we've made an alteration to Liam's name," Ash said, smiling directly at Norman, who realised exactly where Ash was going, and even _he _started to tear up.

"Liam Giovanni Norman Ketchum," Ash said, still smiling brightly at his father-in-law.

"Ash… thank you," Norman said sincerely, which made Ash reach out a hand.

Norman gripped Ash's hand, before pulling the young man into a tight hug.

The two pulled back and turned slightly to see Delia and Caroline in tears again.

"Congratulations, bro," Max said, smiling at Ash, who returned the smile.

"Don't think you get away with it!" Ash exclaimed, pulling Max into a hug as well. After a few seconds the two pulled apart, and Ash took a step back, Pikachu still perched on his shoulder.

"Well, I best get back to my family," Ash said, a huge smile stretching across his face, "Mum, are you alright to make the calls to everyone to let them know?" Ash asked, looking at his mother, the smile not fading.

"Of course, Ashy, now off you go!" Delia said, physically turning Ash around and pushing him back towards the door.

"Thanks, mum!" Ash exclaimed as he opened the door and slipped inside, smiling back at the four – who where still standing up – in the waiting room.

Pikachu leapt off his shoulder and ran on ahead.

That smile grew as big as it possibly could be, when he looked at the bed and saw his wife, his two children and his most faithful Pokémon, cuddled up together on the bed.

May looked up from Pikachu – who she had been speaking to – to Ash, and she blinded Ash with one of her dazzling smiles.

"Hey, honey, how you feeling?" Ash asked, walking over to the bed and sitting down on the left hand side of May, once again.

"Still a bit tired, but who wouldn't be?" May said, smiling up at Ash as she spoke, "Did you tell our parents about the names?" she asked.

Ash nodded, before he swung his legs onto the bed, and slipped down so he was laying on the bed in an identical fashion to May.

"They loved the idea, my mums going to call everyone to let them know," Ash answered, before he placed his right arm around May, and onto Liam's back, who had started to doze off on his mother's stomach.

"Good," May replied, looking directly at Ash.

The two seemed to search each other's eyes, before Ash gently put his left hand onto May's cheek, and pulled her in for a passionate kiss.

"Pika!" Pikachu complained, covering his eyes with his paws, causing Ash and May to pull apart, only slightly, so that when they turned to look at the electric mouse, their cheeks were still touching.

They glanced at each other and simultaneously burst out laughing at Pikachu's antics, before they looked back into each other's eyes.

"I love you, Ash," May said, passion clearly evident in her voice.

"I love you too, May," Ash replied, equalling, if not bettering, the level of passion in his voice.

The parents shared another kiss, before they pulled apart from each other, and laid down properly, May giving Georgia to Ash, before gently lifting the sleeping Liam in between her and Ash.

Ash and May then shifted their bodies, so they were facing each other with both their children laying in the space in between them on the bed.

Ash reached his right arm out, high on the bed, and May reached out her left in and identical way, and they interlocked their fingers.

The two locked eyes and smiled brightly at each other, and Ash started to play with May's wedding ring on her left hand.

Pikachu, who had been sat near the edge of the bed, moved himself so that he was curled up just under Ash and May's outstretched arms.

And they just laid there, all five of them, as a family.

Pikachu, Ash, May, Liam and Georgia Ketchum.

They laid there in a bubble, oblivious to the world around them.

They laid there, being watched over by a guardian angel.

Giovanni Ketchum was smiling down on the young family, feeling just about as proud as a parent possibly could.

"_Ohh Ash… I can see you now…_"

**Aaaaand there we have it! The official ending of "If You Could See Me Now."**

**REVIEWS:**

**Ultratron562: Well, here is the epilogue, did you like it? I'm really glad I portrayed the emotions well, as that is not my strongest writing point (in my opinion), thank you for reviewing my friend!**

**Majormiruddin: Let me assure you it is not! ARE YOU PSYCHIC TOO?!**

**LegitEmi: Do you want a hug my friend? *sends virtual hug* hehe, none of my stories have never really been "popular," so when I uploaded chapter 1, I was so surprised to see the amount of response on it! To be honest, the sequel sort of depended on information that was given in the epilogue, and I **_**REALLY **_**wanted to write a sequel, but I'll get onto that in a moment.**

**TheNightIsYoung: I do agree, reading back on it, there was much more I could do with it, thank you so much!**

**Pikachu Used Thunderbolt: Again, dude, AWESOME NAME! I agree! It was quite bad trying to write it, personally! I will now that I have "officially" completed it.**

**Advanced-ZeroX: Thank you! I really wanted to have a scene for Ash's "closure" and what better than a chat with his father? One last piece of advice from the great man. Would you like me to send you some tissues my friend? Condolences about your grandfather, I lost mine when I was fairly young, and he was amazing, must be a grandfather thing!**

**Amalgam24: Thank you! Yeah, my recovery from depression was much longer than this, but hey, everyone is different, and once Ash had the closure from his chat with Giovanni, and then the talk with the psychiatrist, where he got everything out in the open, it helped him greatly, though I do feel I could've done more with it.**

**South script: YES! SOMEONE NOTICED! Hehe! Thank you!**

**Haveaguess: Wow… thanks! Really? The best fanfiction you've read? THANK YOU SO MUCH! I… I don't even know how to respond to that other than to thank you! It was my pleasure! I don't know the size of their fanbase, but they're not as big as they should be in my opinion! Haha, here's the epilogue and more to come on the sequel momentarily!**

**Justtypin0218: That's a really good idea, looking back on it, probably better than what I did with the chapter! A shame because your idea would've made that chapter a bit more angsty. Wow, thank you! Really appreciate your review!**

**I really would like to thank everyone who has ever read this story, who has ever reviewed, ever added it to their faves and ever followed it, your support has been greater than I could have possibly imagined and I am truly grateful!**

**Now the sequel!**

**Working title for it is: The Birth Of A Champion.**

**That title is open for suggestions; if you can think of a better one, please, feel free to let me know!**

**Picks up three years after Giovanni's death, Ash has travelled the world with his girlfriend May, battling Gyms and entering Regional tournaments, but he has finished 2****nd**** in every single regional tournament, he is now going back to Kanto, back to his roots to try and change that at Indigo League.**

**Basically picks up from the anime, but taking into account the events of "If You Could See Me Now," Ash has had all his adventures, met all the same people (except Iris and Cilan – as I'm not huge fans of those characters and don't feel I could effectively include them in the sequel), and captured all the same Pokémon (with some surprise additions).**

**I hope all of you who have liked this story, will read that one, not sure when the first chapter will be up, but hopefully I can get a regular uploads going.**

**Until then my friends!**

**~AF~ **


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